ORIGIN  AND  MEANING 


THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 
THEODORE  WEHLE 


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ORIGIN  AND  MEANING  OF 

THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 


Origin  and  Meaning  of 

The  Old  Testament 


BY 

THEODORE  WEHLE 


R.  F.  FENNO  &   COMPANY 

18  EAST  SEVENTEENTH    STREET 
NEW    YORK 


Copyright,  1914 

BY 

THEODORE  WEHLE 


CONTENTS 


chapter  page 

Introduction 9 

I.  The  Hebrew  Records 2y 

11.  The  Invasion  of  Canaan  and  the  Es- 
tablishment OF  THE  Monarchy  .     .  42 

III.  The  Division  of  the  Kingdom  to  the 

Fall  of  Samaria 73 

IV.  The  Kingdom  of  Judah   to  the  De- 

struction OF  Jerusalem 105 

V.  Exile  and  Return 132 

VI.  Foundation  of  Judaism 163 

Chronological  Tables 185 

Index 191 


PREFACE. 


The  purpose  of  this  little  treatise  is  to  de- 
scribe in  a  concise  intelligible  manner  the  re- 
sults of  modern  criticism  of  the  Old  Testament 
writings. 

Thanks  to  the  long  continued  and  indefati- 
gable labors  of  most  able  and  original  investi- 
gators the  whole  meaning  of  these  books  has 
assumed  an  entirely  new  aspect,  which  as  yet 
is  not  sufficiently  known  and  appreciated.  The 
study  of  such  original  scientific  works,  however, 
is  intricate  and  the  aim  of  the  present  effort  has 
been  to  divest  the  subject  of  technical  difficul- 
ties, and  to  make  the  new  views  more  accessible 
to  the  general  reader. 

The  treatment  throughout  is  strictly  histori- 
cal, there  being  neither  a  religious  nor  irreligi- 
ous bias,  while  every  intimation  of  the  super- 
natural is  avoided.  During  the  narration  of 
political  events,  current  beliefs  are  introduced 

5 


6  Preface. 

and  their  development  indicated,  until  finally  at 
the  end  of  the  exile  the  essentials  of  the  Old 
Testament  writings  have  assmned  such  shape 
that  the  foundation  of  the  later  Judaism  may 
be  said  to  have  been  established.  Only  then, 
when  the  separate  steps  of  the  process  have 
been  followed,  does  the  reader  fully  realize 
that  the  so-called  five  books  of  Moses  were  not 
written  by  him  nor  at  his  time,  but  that  they  are 
the  compilation,  enlargements  and  alterations 
of  old  legends,  traditions,  rites  and  ceremon- 
ials, interspersed  with  additions  of  centuries 
of  advanced  thought  by  prophets,  priests  and 
scribes. 

In  presenting  this  subject  now  in  such  form 
that  the  general  reader  can  pursue  it  with  com- 
parative ease  and  that  the  student  may  use  it  as 
an  introduction  to  a  more  detailed  study,  a  re- 
newed interest  may  be  aroused  in  a  question 
that  is  so  intimately  interwoven  with  our  whole 
modern  civilization. 

Since  all  the  material  is  treated  in  an  im- 
partial and  objective  manner,  the  facts  as  far  as 
they  can  be  ascertained  being  used  without  any 
bias  or  any  other  consideration,this  little  volume 


Preface.  7 

may  also  serve  as  a  text-book  in  public  schools 
for  the  study  of  the  history  and  development 
of  the  people  of  Israel,  a  knowledge  of  which  is 
as  important  as  that  of  any  of  the  nations  of 
antiquity. 

New  York,  Apeil,  1914. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Our  modern  civilization  may  be  traced  to 
three  principal  factors  that  were  active  in  mold- 
ing it  and  tended  to  develop  it  to  the  shape  it  has 
assumed.  To  the  Greeks  we  are  ever  indebted 
for  the  high  intellectual  stimulus  inherent  in 
their  philosophy,  the  refined  sense  of  the  beau- 
tiful displayed  in  their  plastic  art,  drama  and 
literature  and  to  some  extent  for  the  invention 
of  their  musical  systems.  To  the  Romans,  a 
people  more  practical  than  ideal  in  its  aims, 
we  owe  the  basis  of  the  intricate  structure  of 
our  jurisprudence,  our  sense  of  legal  justice 
and  the  methods  of  administration  which  fur- 
nish the  groundwork  of  the  modern  state.  And 
finally  and  most  important  of  all  we  must  men- 
tion the  Jewish  people,  who  began  to  permeate 
decaying  Roman  society  with  its  monotheistic 
religious  ideas,  which  intermingling  for  cen- 
turies with  many  pagan  notions  and  usage* 

9 


10  Introduction. 

finally  emerged  into  the  forms  of  Christianity 
now  prevalent. 

While  the  first  two  influences  were  largely 
in  abeyance  during  the  formative  period,  the 
first  centuries  of  our  era,  religion  was  a  con- 
tinuous, potent  factor  steadily  acting  on  all 
classes  of  society  and  closely  connected  with 
the  emotional  life  of  the  people.  In  fact  during 
the  present  state  of  disintegration,  when  social, 
religious  and  moral  ideals  are  being  under- 
mined and  no  authority  is  held  sacred,  we  can 
hardly  realize  those  primitive  conditions  when 
religion  underlies  and  affects  every  phase  of 
life.  To  these  we  must  revert  to  get  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  Bible. 

Until  comparatively  recent  times  the  books 
of  the  Old  Testament,  particularly  the  Five 
Books  of  Moses,  have  been  looked  upon  by  be- 
lievers as  a  revelation  from  the  Deity,  and 
every  sentence  and  every  word  has  been  as- 
sumed to  be  literally  inspired.  Not  but  that 
they  contain  statements  that  appear  contradic- 
tory, assumptions  that  are  incompatible  with 
modern  knowledge  and  many  narratives  that 
unmistakably  point  to  a  mythological  origin. 


Introduction.  11 

Indeed  to  reconcile  all  these  incongruities  has 
presented  a  task  to  theologians  that  has  taxed 
their  ingenuity  and  resourcefulness  to  the  ut- 
most. 

When  the  period  of  enlightenment  had  come, 
men  like  Voltaire  in  the  eighteenth  century 
found  it  necessary  to  break  down  the  power  of 
the  clergy  because  it  was  closely  allied  with  the 
autocracy  of  the  state.  They  accordingly  at- 
tacked the  Bible  and  pointed  out  its  deficiencies 
and  its  seeming  absurdities  in  scathing  terms 
and  did  not  refrain  from  ridicule  or  from  any 
method  likely  to  undermine  its  authority. 

The  Eationalists  however,  were  imbued  with 
a  more  reverent  spirit  and  desirous  of  preserv- 
ing the  moral  force  of  the  Bible,  endeavored  to 
explain  everything  that  was  repugnant  to 
modern  thought  by  construing  it  as  being  meant 
figuratively  or  allegorically  and  not  literally. 

But  neither  of  these  methods  could  lead  to 
a  systematic  and  scientific  examination  of  the 
real  problems  underlying  these  writings.  The 
first  brilliantly  original  and  fundamental  step 
in  that  direction  was  taken  not  by  a  theologian, 
but  by  a  French  physician.    It  was  Jean  Astruc 


12  Introduction. 

who  pointed  out  in  1753  that  Genesis,  the  First 
Book  of  Moses,  could  not  be  wholly  the  work 
of  one  mind,  but  must  be  composite,  in  fact  a 
compilation  of  different  and  in  part  of  contra- 
dictory versions.  Since  then  the  subject  has 
been  attacked  with  all  the  resources  of  modern 
historical,  philological  and  ethnological  methods 
and  results  have  been  attained  that  are  of  the 
highest  importance  to  everyone  interested  in 
the  development  of  the  human  race.  But  be- 
fore we  can  enter  upon  some  of  the  details  of 
this  large  problem,  we  must  cast  a  hurried 
glance  at  the  conditions  and  the  peoples  that 
had  exerted  the  greatest  influence  upon  Canaan 
previous  to  the  emergence  of  the  Hebrew  peo- 
ple from  obscurity. 

Until  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century 
our  precise  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the 
world  did  not  extend  beyond  the  eighth  century 
before  the  Christian  era  when  Greece  first 
emerges  from  the  dawn  of  the  legendary  period. 
What  was  known  of  countries  previous  to  that 
time  cannot  be  considered  historical.  During 
the  last  century  the  remarkable  achievementi 


Introduction  13 

in  the  exploration  and  discovery  of  very  old 
civilizations,  has  changed  the  whole  aspect  of 
the  subject.  Varied  relics  and  records  of  very 
early  times  have  been  unearthed  and  among 
them  those  in  the  regions  of  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates  are  of  particular  interest.  At  Nine- 
veh, Babylon,  and  other  points  the  ruins  of 
palaces,  temples,  towers  and  even  libraries  have 
been  found,  some  of  which  may  have  been  buried 
for  thousands  of  years.  They  give  an  insight 
into  the  political,  social,  intellectual  and  religi- 
ous life  of  the  peoples  who  flourished  long  be- 
fore Greece  and  Rome  appeared  in  history. 
The  decipherment  of  the  records  thus  obtained 
bears  testimony  to  the  astounding  ingenuity  and 
perseverance  of  man.  The  documents  consist 
chiefly  of  tablets  of  baked  clay  upon  which  in- 
scriptions have  been  impressed.  They  have 
been  called  cuneiform  from  the  shape  of  the 
characters  of  the  later  period,  that  were  pro- 
duced by  a  wedge-like  tool.  Thus  they  have 
been  preserved  in  libraries  where  hundreds  of 
thousands  were  accumulated,  many  of  which 
have  been  recovered  in  good  condition.  They 
reveal  three  different  kinds  of  writing  and  it 
must  be  noted  that  although  neither  the  sounds, 


14  Introduction 

nor  words,  nor  the  meaning  of  the  languages 
they  represent  were  known,  they  were  de- 
ciphered and  the  contents  ascertained.  When 
we  consider  that  they  date  back  seven  thousand 
years  and  that  written  symbols  had  been  in- 
vented at  that  period,  we  have  some  inkling  of 
how  very  old  the  beginnings  of  human  culture 
must  be. 

While  it  is  as  yet  not  definitely  settled,  it 
seems  highly  probable  that  the  founders  of  this 
civilization  were  a  race  known  as  Sumerians 
and  that  to  them  is  due  a  part  of  the  religion 
and  much  of  the  general  culture  of  the  Baby- 
lonians. At  that  period  cities  like  Sumer  and 
Akkad  were  the  seats  of  civilization  and  were 
ruled  by  kings  who  struggled  for  supremacy, 
until  gradually  they  were  welded  into  larger 
aggregates.  But  it  is  certain  that  at  a  very 
early  date  a  Semitic  race  predominated  in  the 
land,  and  spoke  languages  that  are  usually 
called  Babylonian  and  Assyrian.  They  are 
closely  affiliated  with  the  Hebrew,  Phenician 
and  several  Aramaic  languages  of  the  Semitic 
type.  While  the  latest  discoveries  carry  the 
history  of  this  region  as  far  back  as  about 


Introduction.  15 

5000  B.  C,  there  is  no  doubt  that  since  Sar- 
gon  I.,  about  3800  B.  C,  the  country  remained 
nearly  always  under  the  rule  of  Semitic  kings 
until  the  time  of  the  Persian  conquest  in  538 
B.  C.  They  were  very  aggressive  and  made 
many  conquests  extending  their  sway  at  times 
over  Babylonia,  Assyria,  Mesopotamia,  Syria, 
Phenicia,  Canaan  and  even  Egypt,  with  which 
they  were  often  at  war. 

What  has  been  called  the  first  dynasty  was 
founded  about  2450  B.  C.  The  sixth  king  of  this 
dynasty,  Hammurabi,  ruled  from  about  2267  to 
2213  B.  C,  and  he  united  all  Babylonia  under 
one  scepter  and  the  city  of  Babylon  became  its 
capital.  Thereafter  Babylon  remained  the  in- 
tellectual and  religious  center  of  this  section  of 
the  world,  resembling  somewhat  the  position  of 
Rome  at  a  later  period  in  Europe. 

A  French  expedition  under  J.  de  Morgan  in 
January  1902  made  a  remarkable  discovery  in 
finding  a  tablet  of  stone  at  Susa  bearing  in- 
scriptions about  Hammurabi.  It  shows  him 
standing  before  the  Sun-god  who  is  seated  and 
who  instructs  him  in  the  law  which  is  given  be- 
low in  282  paragraphs.    It  is  probably  a  collec- 


16  Introduction. 

tion  of  decisions  or  decrees  and  presented  here 
in  a  codified  form.  It  is  the  oldest  and  among 
the  most  important  documents  of  the  kind  that 
mankind  possesses.  Private  and  criminal  law, 
regulations  about  marriage,  family  possessions, 
inheritances,  adopted  children,  slaves  and  in- 
numerable subjects  are  intermixed  and  show  a 
varied  and  high  state  of  civilization  not  pre- 
viously suspected.  While  promulgated  at  the 
date  stated,  many  of  the  provisions  must  be  of 
much  older  date  and  probably  antedate  the 
Mosaic  laws  by  1200  to  1500  years.  It  is  as- 
sumed by  some  Assyriologists  that  Hammurabi 
may  be  identical  with  Amraphel,  King  of  Shinar 
who  is  mentioned  in  Genesis  as  a  contemporary 
of  Abraham.  But  while  the  consolidation  of 
the  whole  kingdom  under  Hammurabi  is  of  great 
political  importance,  his  reign  is  also  noted 
for  internal  improvements  and  the  stimulus 
given  to  mental  activity. 

Much  of  the  Babylonian  chronology  of  the 
older  periods  is  quite  uncertain  as  to  reigns  or 
rulers. 

They  did  not  seem  to  have  had  any  chroni- 
clers  or  historians,   but   registers   have  been 


Introduction.  17 

found  giving  names  of  rulers,  length  of  reigns 
and  dynasties  and  these  as  yet  show  many  gaps. 
Considerably  more  is  known  of  the  social,  re- 
ligious and  intellectual  condition  of  the  people, 
because  these  were  not  subject  to  rapid  changes. 
Everything  centered  about  their  religious  life 
and  each  city  had  some  deity  that  was  specially 
revered.  Their  aims  were  always  practical  and 
not  dominated  by  ideal  strivings.  Their  cults 
required  observation  of  the  stars  and  this  led 
to  the  elaboration  of  a  system  of  astrology  con- 
taining many  elements  of  superstition  and  mys- 
ticism, but  also  data  of  real  astronomical  value. 

They  had  ascertained  that  the  sun-year  con- 
sisted of  about  36514  days  and  in  practice  they 
adopted  12  months  of  30  days  each,  and  a  week 
of  7  days  and  the  insertion  of  an  additional 
month  at  proper  intervals.  They  also  divided 
the  circle  into  360  degrees  of  60  minutes  and  60 
seconds  each  and  had  a  fairly  advanced  system 
of  reckoning. 

Their  canals  and  other  internal  improve- 
ments, their  architecture,  their  highly  developed 
commerce,  their  written  contracts  and  their  lit- 


18  Introduction. 

erature  embracing  epic  and  lyric  compositions 
are  all  noteworthy. 

With  the  last  of  this  dynasty  about  2098  B.  C, 
our  information  becomes  scanty  and  no  occur- 
rence of  importance  is  known  until  we  reach 
the  third  dynasty,  which  extended  from  about 
1700  to  1140  B.  C.  This  period  is  one  of  in- 
ternal struggles  and  the  temporary  supremacy 
of  an  invading  race  in  Babylonia,  while  Assyria 
developed  gradually  into  an  independent  king- 
dom. Finally  under  Nebuchadnezzar  I.  Assyria 
virtually  assumes  the  lead  and  becomes  a  con- 
quering power. 

But  this  whole  epoch  of  incessant  revolts  and 
wars  was  of  far  more  than  local  range  and  im- 
port. It  was  a  period  of  general  unrest  and 
movement  of  peoples,  that  affected  all  the  coun- 
tries from  the  Euphrates  to  the  Mediterranean 
and  to  the  Nile. 

It  is  generally  assumed  now,  that  we  must 
look  to  Arabia  as  the  seat  and  origin  of  all  the 
Semitic  peoples.  As  these  nomads  outgrew  the 
scanty  resources  of  the  Arabian  oases,  they  were 
attracted  by  the  fertile  land  adjoining  them. 
They  either  migrated  peacefully  and  settled 


Introduction.  19 

in  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates  and  in  Mes- 
opotamia or  in  the  west  in  Syria,  Phenicia  and 
Canaan,  or  they  came  in  large  numbers  and 
took  forcible  possession  of  the  land.  These 
movements  took  place  at  all  times  and  caused 
much  trouble  to  the  countries  involved,  but  in 
the  period  we  are  now  discussing  they  assumed 
momentous  proportions.  In  Egypt,  Semitic 
hordes  defeated  the  Pharaohs,  gained  control 
and  ruled  the  land  for  about  three  centuries. 
This  is  known  as  the  dynasty  of  the  Hyksos. 
During  the  fifteenth  century  the  revolt  against 
these  intruders  began  and  by  the  end  of  the 
century  the  rule  of  the  native  Pharaohs  was  re- 
stored. Stimulated  by  this  success  the  Egyp- 
tians who  had  been  generally  a  peaceful  peo- 
ple, became  aggressive  and  overran  Syria, 
Mesopotamia  and  even  crossed  the  Euphrates. 
The  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  kingdoms  at  the 
time  were  too  weak  to  offer  resistance  and  lost 
the  sway  over  the  countries  they  had  previously 
controlled. 

The  accidental  discovery  of  the  so-called  Tel- 
el-Amarna  correspondence  in  1887,  sheds  a  re- 
markable light  upon  the  conditions  then  pre- 


20  Introduction. 

vailing.  It  is  dated  about  1400  B.  C.  and  com- 
prises nearly  300  documents,  embracing  letters 
from  Asiatic  kings  to  the  Pharaohs,  and  what 
interests  us  most  in  this  connection,  reports 
from  governors  and  other  officials  from  Syria 
and  particularly  from  Canaan  to  the  Egyptian 
rulers.  They  are  all  written  in  cuneiform  char- 
acters and  in  the  Babylonian  language  and 
prove  that  it  had  become  the  means  of  diplo- 
matic intercourse  and  also  that  Babylonian  cul- 
ture had  made  so  deep  an  impress  upon  Canaan 
that  some  of  the  people  spoke  the  language  and 
its  officials  employed  it  in  their  reports.  Egyp- 
tian influence  does  not  seem  to  have  been  great 
or  lasting,  for  about  1200  B.  C.  when  the  Hebrew 
invasion  began,  the  country  was  again  indepen- 
dent and  entirely  under  native  rulers. 

The  Egyptians  were  a  Hamitic  people,  that  is 
a  white  African  race,  or  perhaps  a  mixture  of 
these  with  Semitic  elements,  and  their  civiliza- 
tion is  nearly  as  old  and  as  interesting  as  that 
of  the  Babylonians.  There  are  reliable  hiero- 
glyphic records  to  about  3500  B.  C,  but  as  their 
influence  upon  the  religious  development  and 
the    history    of    the   Israelites    was    not  im- 


Introduction.  21 

portant  in  the  early  times,  we  need  not  pay  any 
further  attention  to  them  here. 

For  many  centuries  the  Assyrian  kings  strove 
to  regain  the  territory  that  Babylonia  had  once 
occupied.  They  were  ferocious  and  unyielding 
in  their  methods  of  warfare  and  had  to  meet 
rebellions  and  conspiracies  on  every  hand.  By 
740  B.  C.  Tiglath-pileser,  one  of  their  great 
kings,  was  in  possession  of  a  large  part  of  Syria. 
In  732  he  captured  the  northern  section  of  the 
kingdom  of  Israel  and  compelled  the  king  to 
pay  tribute.  Ahaz,  the  king  of  Judah,  also  had 
to  do  homage  to  him. 

His  successor,  Sargon  II.,  in  722  B.  C.  took 
the  city  of  Samaria,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel,  seized  the  king,  Hoshea,  and  exting- 
uished the  northern  Hebrew  state.  He  deported 
the  flower  of  the  nation,  to  the  number  of  27,- 
290  persons  to  Mesopotamia  and  Media,  where 
later  on  captives  from  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
were  settled.  That  was  the  method  generally 
employed  by  the  Assyrian  kings,  who  never 
ceased  to  pursue  a  policy  of  expansion  and  con- 
trol of  other  states.  During  the  seventh  century 
they  controlled  twenty-two  vassal  states,  includ- 


22  Introduction. 

ing  Egypt,  Tyre,  Sidon,  Judah,  Damascus,  Mes- 
opotamia and  many  smaller  provinces,  com- 
prising a  large  part  of  the  territory  from  the 
Tigris  to  the  Mediterranean. 

A  later  king,  Ashnrbanipal  (668-626),  de- 
serves mention  for  the  remarkable  library  which 
he  founded.  It  contained  tens  of  thousands  of 
clay  tablets  and  furnished  an  insight  into  the 
religious,  historical  and  scientific  literature  of 
the  Babylonia-Assyrian  world. 

But  twenty  years  after  the  brilliant  reign  of 
Ashnrbanipal  the  Assyrian  empire  came  to  an 
end.  The  whole  energy  of  the  state  had  been 
concentrated  solely  upon  conquest.  The  sub- 
ject races  were  not  conciliated,  but  feared  and 
hated  their  oppressors.  They  were  ever  ready 
for  revolts  and  conspiracies.  At  home  com- 
merce was  fostered  and  reached  large  propor- 
tions. Enormous  wealth  was  accumulated, 
but  the  priesthood  was  very  powerful  and  ex- 
acting. It  was  a  vast  empire  with  little  in- 
ternal cohesion.  When  new  forces  asserted 
themselves  that  had  been  slowly  gathering 
unnoticed,  the  collapse  came. 


Introduction.  23 

A  Semitic  race,  known  as  the  Chaldeans,  had 
been  settled  in  the  southern  part  of  Babylonia 
for  centuries.  They  had  repeatedly  struggled 
for  supremacy  and  had  virtually  become  an 
integral  part  of  the  people.  When  they  found 
that  an  Aryan  race,  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
hitherto  of  small  importance,  had  grown  in 
power  and  showed  the  impulse  for  expansion, 
the  Chaldeans  combined  with  them  to  over- 
throw the  Assyrian  dynasty  at  home.  They 
made  Nabopolassar  their  king  and  he  became 
heir  to  the  Assyrian  empire.  The  king  of  Judah 
thought  the  time  was  opportune  to  renounce  his 
allegiance  and  Nabopolassar  having  died,  his 
son  and  successor  Nebuchadnezzar  proceeded 
to  besiege  Jerusalem.  The  city  was  taken  in 
597  and  the  king,  Jehoiachin,  and  some  of  his 
most  prominent  subjects  were  carried  to 
Babylonia.  His  uncle  Zedekiah  was  appointed 
in  his  stead,  but  before  long  he  too  joined  a 
confederation  of  neighboring  states  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Chaldean  rule.  Nebuchadnezzar 
again  overran  the  country  and  besieged  Jerusa- 
lem, which  was  desperately  defended.  On  its 
fall  the  king  was  blinded,  his  sons  and  many 


24  Introduction. 

others  slain.  A  large  number  of  the  leading 
families  were  then  deported  to  Babylonia  and 
Jerusalem  was  demolished  in  586  B.  C. 

Before  long  the  Medes  also  encountered  a 
rebellion.  Their  province  of  Persia  revolted 
and  under  the  leadership  of  Cyrus  overthrew 
the  Median  state  in  about  550  B.  C.  and  he  made 
himself  king  of  the  whole  country.  He  was  a 
very  able  ruler  of  far-reaching  ambitions  and 
before  long  he  was  embroiled  with  the  Chal- 
deans. In  530  he  besieged  Babylon  and  through 
the  treachery  of  the  priesthood  the  gates  of  the 
city  were  opened  to  him.  This  was  the  end  of 
the  Chaldean  empire.  The  Persian  dynasty 
that  succeeded  it,  remained  in  power  for  two 
centuries  until  it  was  overthrown  by  Alexander 
the  Great. 

While  the  civilization  initiated  by  the  Baby- 
lonians  had  many  defects,  nevertheless  posterity 
owes  it  a  debt  of  deep  gratitude,  not  only  as  be- 
ing the  oldest,  but  because  it  laid  foundations 
of  permanent  value.  It  is  true  the  Babylonians 
were  essentially  a  commercial  people  and  busi- 
ness permeated  every  walk  of  life.  Their  textile 
fabrics  and  other  manufactures  were  highly  de- 


Introduction.  25 

veloped  and  found  a  ready  market.  They  origi- 
nated a  quite  intricate  financial  system,  stamped 
coins  and  fixed  a  ratio  of  1  to  12  between  gold 
and  silver,  about  the  same  as  in  medieval 
Europe.  The  rate  of  interest  ranged  from  10 
per  cent  to  20  per  cent  and  mortgages  on  build- 
ings were  granted.  Their  methods  of  irriga- 
tion and  their  canals  were  of  great  benefit  to 
agriculture,  which  w^as  aided  by  rich  soils  and 
favorable  climate.  They  invented  writing  and 
left  noteworthy  monuments  in  architecture  and 
the  plastic  arts.  In  astronomy  and  many  other 
sciences  they  laid  foundations  of  real  value. 
Rawlinson  thinks  that  Greece  received  the  im- 
petus for  its  high  intellectual  culture  from  Baby- 
lon and  that  but  for  its  efforts  civilization  might 
not  even  yet  have  dawned  upon  the  earth. 

While  in  religion  they  were  very  superstitious 
and  accepted  a  remarkable  system  of  polytheis- 
tic worship,  they  rose  at  times  to  a  fervor  and 
purity  of  emotion  that  reminds  one  of  the 
Psalms  and  prayers  of  the  Hebrew  religious 
poets. 

The  following  supplication  by  Nebuchadnez- 


26  Introduction. 

zar  to  Marduk,  the  principal  deity  of  Babylon, 
is  a  fine  specimen : — 

*  *  0  eternal  prince !    Lord  of  all  being  I 
As  for  the  king  whom  thou  lovest,  and 
Whose  name  thou  hast  proclaimed 
As  was  pleasing  to  thee, 
Do  thou  lead  aright  his  life. 
Guide  him  in  the  straight  path. 

I  am  the  prince,  obedient  to  thee, 

The  creature  of  thy  hand ; 

Thou  hast  created  me,  and 

With  dominion  over  all  people 

Thou  hast  intrusted  me. 

According  to  thy  grace,  0  Lord, 

Which  thou  dost  bestow  on 

All  people, 

Cause  me  to  love  thy  supreme  dominion, 

And  create  in  my  heart 

The  worship  of  thy  godhead. 

And  grant  whatever  is  pleasing  to  thee. 

Because  thou  hast  fashioned  my  life.'' 

Such  were  the  conditions  and  the  surroundings 
that  met  the  elite  of  Jewish  society  when  they 
were  transplanted  to  Babylonia. 


THE  HEBREW  RECORDS. 

We  have  seen  that  the  sources  from  which 
we  derive  our  information  about  the  Assyrians 
and  Babylonians  consist  chiefly  of  written  docu- 
ments of  a  general  character  and  of  inscriptions 
and  edicts  of  rulers.  These  are  often  fragmen- 
tary and  at  times  show  large  gaps.  No  histories 
or  chronicles  have  been  found,  but  such  docu- 
ments as  we  possess,  making  allowance  for  the 
vain-glorious  and  boasting  inscriptions  of 
rulers,  are  reliable  and  truthful  in  the  sense  of 
having  no  tendency  or  desire  to  represent  or 
color  events  for  any  special  purpose.  It  is  quite 
different  with  the  sources  of  information  about 
the  Hebrew  people.  From  probably  an  exten- 
sive literature  there  has  been  preserved  sub- 
stantially only  one  set  of  writings  in  Hebrew, 
known  as  the  Old  Testament  and  a  translation 
of  it  in  Greek  called  the  Septuagint.  This  be- 
gins with  the  Pentateuch,  the  Five  Books  of 

27 


28  The  Old  Testament: 

Moses,  which  claims  to  be  a  history  of  the  world 
from  its  creation  to  the  death  of  Moses.  It  is 
followed  by  the  Book  of  Joshua,  a  successor  to 
Moses,  who  leads  the  Hebrew  tribes  in  their 
entry  upon  Canaan.  After  him  the  Book  of 
Judges  describes  the  warfare  and  the  struggles 
of  the  invaders  with  the  resident  inhabitants, 
under  the  leadership  of  chieftains  who  are  called 
Judges.  Then  we  have  the  rise  of  the  kingdom 
depicted  in  the  two  Books  of  Samuel,  followed 
by  the  two  Books  of  Kings,  narrating  its  later 
division  into  Israel  and  Judah,  the  obliteration 
of  the  former  in  722  and  the  destruction  of  the 
latter  in  586  B.  C.  by  Assyrian  kings.  These 
historical  works  are  supplemented  by  the  two 
Books  of  Chronicles  that  cover  in  part  the  same 
period,  but  are  written  at  a  much  later  date, 
possibly  two  or  three  centuries  after  the  exile. 
The  events  after  the  exile  are  related  by  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah. 

In  addition  to  these  historical  writings  we 
have  other  literature  which  is  quite  peculiar  to 
the  Jewish  people  and  most  likely  the  most  im- 
portant factor  in  the  development  of  their  racial 
traits.    This  consists  of  the  Books  of  the  Prop- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  29 

hets,  ranging  from  the  eighth  century  before  to 
within  two  centuries  of  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era.  Then  we  have  the  Psalms,  Books 
of  Wisdom,  Job  and  similar  literature  of  de- 
votional, philosophical,  moralizing  and  didactic 
tendencies. 

The  Old  Testament,  therefore,  contains  not 
only  the  beliefs  and  religious  notions  of  the 
Hebrew  people,  but  also  an  outline  of  their 
political  history.  It  is  true  that  this  latter  is 
often  scanty  and  that  it,  as  well  as  the  narra- 
tions of  religious  events,  has  been  edited  and  re- 
written at  a  comparatively  late  date  and  in  part 
unconsciously  and  to  some  extent  intentionally 
colored  by  the  religious  standpoint  of  the 
writers  of  that  period.  But  modern  investiga- 
tion indicates  that  while  Moses  must  have  been 
a  real  historical  person,  all  that  has  been  trans- 
mitted to  us  is  of  merely  traditional  character 
in  legendary  form.  It  would  seem  that  he  was  a 
great  leader  who  may  have  formulated  some  of 
the  ceremonial  and  rites  of  the  primitive  cult 
of  his  people  and  most  likely  took  a  prominent 
part  in  the  exodus  of  some  Hebrew  tribes  from 
Egypt.    But  it  is  just  as  certain  that  the  elabor- 


30  The  Old  Testament: 

ate  system  of  laws  and  ritual  that  we  find  em- 
bodied in  the  Pentateuch  was  not  promulgated 
by  him;  for  this  whole  intricate  code  was  not 
introduced  until  many  centuries  after  his  death. 
This  becomes  evident  when  we  examine  the 
writings  of  the  great  prophets  who  appeared 
in  the  eighth  century  B.  C.  who  while  they  ar- 
raigned their  countrymen  for  the  neglect  of 
their  national  worship,  did  not  mention  nor  in 
any  way  allude  to  Moses  or  the  Mosaic  laws. 
Not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  seventh  century 
were  the  scattered  tribal  laws  and  customs  of 
the  Hebrews  collected  and  those  more  modern 
humane  ideas  incorporated  that  we  find  as- 
sociated with  them  in  the  Pentateuch.  This  im- 
portant legislative  act,  which  also  restricted  the 
performance  of  sacrifices  to  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem,  was  brought  forward  as  though  it 
were  a  divine  command  and  enforced  by  the 
authority  of  the  state.  It  wrought  far  reach- 
ing changes  by  introducing  ideas  that  ultimately 
led  from  a  primitive  belief  in  a  tribal  god  to 
that  higher  monotheistic  conception  gradually 
reached  at  a  later  date.  During  the  exile  in 
Babylonia  in  the  sixth  and  fifth  centuries  B.  C. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  31 

the  beginnings  here  indicated  were  elaborated 
and  finally  merged  with  other  old  traditions 
and  legends  into  the  essential  contents  of 
what  are  now  known  as  the  five  books  of 
Moses.  Finally  toward  the  latter  part  of  the 
fifth  century  these  writings  in  the  shape  they 
had  then  attained  were  brought  to  Jerusalem 
by  a  party  of  the  exiles  and  rigidly  enforced 
as  divine  laws,  whereby  the  basis  of  the 
Jewish  religion  was  permanently  established. 
The  intermediate  steps  by  which  these  results 
had  been  achieved  were  totally  misunderstood 
by  the  scribes  who  composed  these  books  and 
they  felt  impelled  to  assume  that  the  contents 
of  the  Pentateuch  had  been  revealed  to  Moses 
and  were  written  down  by  him  under  divine 
inspiration.  Views  that  were  the  result  of  a 
long  progressive  development  were  thus  made 
to  appear  as  being  held  by  rude  primitive  tribes, 
and  only  by  the  aid  of  modern  critical  methods 
has  it  been  possible  to  present  a  picture  that 
shows  the  successive  historical,  political,  as  well 
as  religious  changes  in  their  true  perspective. 
The  first  chapter  of  the  Old  Testament  deals 
with  the  description  of  creation.    **  In  the  be- 


32  The  Old  Testament : 

ginning  Elohim  created  the  heaven  and  the 
earth.  And  the  earth  was  waste  and  void ;  and 
darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep  and  the 
spirit  of  Elohim  was  brooding  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters. ' ' 

It  will  be  noted  that  it  is  not  claimed  that 
God  created  darkness  or  chaos  (their  existence 
is  assumed),  but  that  he  created  light  and  the 
cosmos,  the  orderly  arrangement  of  matter. 

And  the  spirit  of  Elohim  brooded  upon  the 
waters,  as  though  the  world  had  been  gradually 
hatched.  Both  of  these  conceptions  are  found 
in  older  creation  stories  and  show  that  this  one 
is  composite  and  of  different  origins. 

Then  the  narrative  continues.  On  the  second 
day  the  firmament  was  formed  and  the  waters 
divided  between  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  On 
the  third,  the  vegetable  kingdom  was  created 
and  on  the  fourth  the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  those 
bodies  whose  radiation  gives  us  light,  after  light 
in  the  abstract  had  been  established  on  the  first 
day;  on  the  fifth  day,  ''  every  living  creature 
that  moveth  upon  the  sea  and  every  winged 
fowl  in  the  air;  ''  on  the  sixth  finally,  ''  every 
living  creature,  cattle,  and  creeping  thing  and 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  33 

beast  of  the  earth. ' '  And  then  on  the  same  day, 
**  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him ;  male  and  female 
created  he  tJiem/^ 

The  first  three  verses  of  the  second  chapter 
bring  the  statement  that  God  rested  on  the 
seventh  day  and  hallowed  it  and  blessed  it. 

The  creation  story  had  to  be  crowded  into 
six  days  so  as  to  make  the  seventh  a  day  of  rest 
and  to  specially  emphasize  that  fact.  Why? 
Because  the  Hebrews  in  Canaan  accepted  the 
Babylonian  division  of  the  week  into  seven  days 
and  in  the  exile  kept  the  seventh  as  a  day  upon 
which  all  w^ork  was  forbidden,  a  day  of  rest. 
The  Babylonian  name  for  the  day  was  Suhattu 
and  the  word  Sabbath  is  borrow^ed  from  it  and 
is  not  Hebrew. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  opening  chapter  of 
the  Pentateuch  was  not  intended  or  written  for 
a  rude  and  illiterate  people  as  the  Hebrew  tribes 
originally  w^ere,  but  that  it  is  the  work  of  an 
author,  dry  and  systematizing  and  acquainted 
with  the  scientific  thought  of  an  advanced  age. 
It  is  ascribed  to  a  priestly  editor  of  a  much  later 
period,  as  will  be  seen  subsequently. 


34  The  Old  Testament: 

The  second  chapter  begins  with  the  three 
verses  about  the  Sabbath  and  continues  in  a  tone 
and  manner  quite  different  from  the  first. 

The  fourth  verse  opens  *^  These  are  the  gen- 
erations of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth  when 
they  were  created,  in  the  day  that  Jehovah  * 
Elohim  made  the  earth  and  heavens.  And  no 
plant  of  the  field  was  yet  in  the  earth,  etc.,  for 
Jehovah  Elohim  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon 

♦While  the  proper  name  Jehovah,  which  is  employed 
throughout  this  treatise,  has  been  in  use  for  several  cen- 
turies, it  must  be  pointed  out  that  it  is  an  incorrect  form  due 
to  a  misunderstanding.  The  now  commonly  accepted  pro- 
nunciation of  the  original  is  Yahveh.  Hebrew  written  words 
did  not  contain  the  vowel  sounds  which  had  to  be  supplied 
in  accordance  with  the  context  by  the  intelligent  reader. 
In  the  early  centuries  of  our  era  the  Hebrew  language  was 
no  longer  spoken  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  its  peculiar- 
ities was  restricted  to  the  small  number  of  the  learned. 
Then  it  became  necessary  for  the  Jews  to  invent  a  system  of 
vowel  notation  which  was  placed  under,  in  and  between  the 
consonants  so  as  to  make  reading  easy. 

The  name  Yahveh  had  become  so  revered  and  holy  that  it 
was  not  to  be  pronounced  and  whenever  it  occurred  it  was 
read  as  adonaj,  Our  Lord.  So  the  vowel  notation  applying 
to  this  word  a  c  a  was  placed  under  the  consonants  J  H  V  H 
making  it  sound  Yehovah.  During  the  Reformation  period 
when  theologians  studied  the  Hebrew  text  anew  they  believed 
that  Yahveh  had  always  been  pronounced  Jehovah,  and  the 
King  James  translation  of  the  Bible  firmly  established  this 
spelling.  Modern  scholars  recognize  the  error,  but  it  has 
been  popularly  accepted  and  been  in  vogue  so  long  that  it 
has  been  retained  here  to  preserve  the  tradition. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  35 

the  earth  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the 
ground.  And  Jehovah  Elohim  formed  man  of 
the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his 
nostrils  the  breath  of  life;  and  man  became  a 
living  soul.''  Then  the  Garden  of  Eden  was 
planted  and  ^^  out  of  the  ground — every  tree 
that  was  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and  good  for 
food  "  was  made  to  grow.  Later  on,  ^^  every 
beast  of  the  field,  and  every  fowl  of  the  air  '' 
was  formed  out  of  the  ground  and  brought  to 
the  man  **  to  see  what  he  would  call  them." 
Finally  Eve  was  created  out  of  a  rib  taken  from 
Adam.  Then  follows  the  story  of  the  tree  of 
knowledge,  and  the  temptation  by  the  serpent 
and  the  fall.  And  Adam  and  Eve  had  their 
eyes  opened  and  ^ '  knew  that  they  were  naked ; 
and  they  sewed  fig  leaves  together  and  made 
themselves  aprons."  And  they  ^^  heard  the 
voice  of  Jehovah  Elohim  walking  in  the  garden 
in  the  cool  of  the  day/^  After  questioning  them 
he  pronounced  punishment  upon  them  for  their 
disobedience.  And  later  on  Jehovah  Elohim 
said  **  Behold  the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us, 
to  know  good  and  evil ;  and  now  lest  he  put  forth 
his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and 


36  The  Old  Testament : 

eat,  and  live  forever ;  therefore  Jehovah  Elohim 
sent  him  forth  from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  to  till 
the  ground  from  whence  he  was  taken.  So  he 
drove  out  the  man;  and  he  placed — Cherubim 
and  a  flaming  sword  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree 
of  life.'^ 

After  expulsion  from  Paradise,  children  are 
born  to  Adam  and  Eve.  And  the  older  Cain 
kills  Abel,  his  younger  brother,  for  which  he  is 
punished  by  Jehovah  Elohim  by  being  driven 
from  home,  an  incessant  wanderer.  This  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  recital  of  the  building  of  cities  and 
the  introduction  of  the  arts  and  by  long  genea- 
logical tables  of  patriarchs  of  fabulous  age,  of 
whom  Methuselah  is  best  known.  Ultimately 
we  reach  Noah  and  the  flood. 

At  a  glance  it  is  evident  that  the  second  nar- 
rative beginning  with  the  fourth  verse  of  the 
second  chapter  *'  These  are  the  generations  of 
the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  etc.,''  is  part  of 
another  creation  story,  the  opening  of  which 
may  have  been  left  off  and  the  rest  added  as  a 
continuation  to  the  first.  The  version  as  a 
whole,  regardless  of  the  discrepancy  of  the  de- 
tails, is  entirely  di^erent  in  tone  and  character. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  37 

The  first  considers  Eloliim  as  the  creator  of  the 
universe,  a  sublime  being,  impersonal  in  his 
relations  to  man.  The  second,  in  which  Jehovah 
Elohim  appears  is  a  naive,  childlike  narrative, 
where  the  Deity  is  on  a  familiar  footing  with  his 
creatures,  talks  with  them,  meets  them  in  the 
cool  of  the  day  and  seems  astonished  and  angry 
at  their  disobedience. 

Then  again  in  the  first  version  mankind, 
male  and  female,  are  created  after  the  mammals 
on  the  sixth  day,  while  in  the  second  narrative  a 
single  man  is  created  first,  then  vegetation  and 
afterwards  the  animal  kingdom.  The  woman  is 
formed  out  of  the  man's  rib,  probably  Tsdth  the 
purpose  of  inculcating  the  lesson  that  she  is 
subordinate  to  him,  a  notion  certainly  not  com- 
patible with  modern  views.  Still  more  remark- 
able is  the  introduction  of  the  tree  of  knowledge 
and  the  tree  of  life.  Man  is  not  expelled  from 
Eden  on  account  of  his  transgression  but  ^^  lest 
he  also  eat  of  the  tree  of  life  and  live  forever 
and  become  as  one  of  us."  This  is  not  in  con- 
formity with  a  monotheistic  conception  and 
points  clearly  to  a  polytheistic,  mythological 
origin. 


38  The  Old  Testament: 

But  the  most  valuable  feature  of  this  second 
version  to  us,  is  the  use  of  the  name  Jehovah 
Elohim  for  the  Deity,  as  this  has  given  the  clue 
to  a  proper  analysis  of  the  Biblical  writings. 
In  the  first  narrative  of  the  creation  the  word 
Elohim  is  always  used.  The  special  proper 
name  Jehovah  was  combined  with  Elohim  in  the 
second,  probably  so  as  not  to  make  the  transi- 
tion appear  too  abrupt.  Later  on  either  one  or 
the  other  is  generally  used  alone  and  then  both 
the  details  and  the  tone  of  the  recital  are  dif- 
ferent when  they  relate  the  same  story.  The 
inference  is  irresistible  that  originally  there 
were  extant  two  independent  versions  treating 
of  similar  traditions,  and  that  they  were  merged 
and  interwoven  with  other  matter  into  what  we 
now  call  the  Old  Testament.  The  author  that 
wrote  down  the  one  has  been  named  the 
Jehovist,  the  other  the  Elohist.  Modern  Bible 
criticism  has  been  able  to  point  out  these 
separate  parts,  explain  their  origin  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  and  present  an  entirely  new 
view  and  meaning  of  these  writings. 

About  the  flood  we  again  have  two  divergent 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  39 

stories  that  overlap  each  other  at  various  points 
and  which  we  need  not  follow  in  detail. 

But  most  interesting  is  the  problem  of  the 
origin  of  the  whole  idea  of  the  deluge,  for  it  is 
established  beyond  doubt  that  no  such  universal 
flood  occurred  at  the  time  assumed.  Here  for- 
tunately most  important  evidence  has  been  dis- 
covered. A  cuneiform  tablet  has  been  found 
which  forms  the  eleventh  division  of  an  epic 
poem  assumed  to  date  from  at  least  2000  B.  C. 
It  is  damaged  in  parts,  but  enough  is  left  to  give 
a  fair  insight  into  the  composition.  Fragments 
of  other  versions  have  also  been  recovered  and 
they  are  all  very  old.  There  are  remarkable 
resemblances  with  the  Bible  stories  as  well  as 
some  differences  in  the  details. 

The  gods  determine  to  send  a  deluge  to  punish 
the  corruption  of  mankind.  One  of  the  gods  in- 
forms a  man  who  is  devoted  to  him  and  bids  him 
build  a  ship  which  he  describes,  and  to  save  his 
family  and  his  servants  and  to  take  seeds  of  all 
life,  cattle  of  the  field,  etc.,  with  him.  The  flood 
lasts  seven  days  and  the  ship  is  then  stuck  on  a 
mountain  for  seven  days.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  the  man  permits  a  dove  to  fly  out  first, 


40  The  Old  Testament: 

later  a  swallow  and  finally  a  raven.  On  landing, 
a  sacrifice  is  brought  to  the  gods.  It  seems 
highly  probable,  since  the  tradition  is  so  very 
old,  that  it  was  current  in  Canaan  when  the 
Hebrews  came  into  the  land. 

The  three  specimens  here  given,  all  from 
Genesis,  will  suffice  as  illustrations  of  the  Elo- 
hist  and  Jehovist  versions  as  they  occur  in  many 
of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament. 

After  Noah  and  his  descendants  we  reach  the 
three  patriarchs  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  and 
the  twelve  sons  of  the  latter.  Then  the  experi- 
ences of  Joseph  in  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  settle- 
ment of  his  family  in  the  country  are  given  and 
finally  the  Exodus.  To  these  narratives  we  will 
recur  presently.  Of  the  Exodus  and  of  Moses 
we  have  no  corroborative  evidence,  as  the  Egyp- 
tian inscriptions  do  not  mention  them.  That  a 
great  leader  must  have  arisen  to  spur  on  and  di- 
rect his  people  is  certain.  Such  movements  can- 
not originate  spontaneously  and  nothing  can  be 
accomplished  without  a  superior  intellect  to 
guide  and  to  control.  But  the  personality  of 
such  a  leader  of  prehistoric  times  becomes  so 
overladen  with  legendary  and  traditional  accre- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  41 

tions,  that  his  true  character  and  the  achieve- 
ments of  his  life  cannot  be  isolated  and  ascer- 
tained. As  a  proof  of  the  propensity  to  attach 
current  stories  to  men  of  renown,  the  narrative 
in  Exodus  may  be  mentioned,  that  the  mother  of 
Moses  placed  him  as  a  baby  into  an  ark  of  bul- 
rushes at  the  banks  of  a  river  where  he  was 
found  by  Pharoah's  daughter.  This  is  probably 
an  adaptation  of  an  inscription  of  Sargon  I. 
3800  B.  C.  wherein  he  relates  how  his  mother 
similarly  placed  him  into  a  little  boat  which 
floated  down  the  river,  where  he  was  picked  up 
by  a  farmer  who  reared  him. 


11. 


THE  INVASION  OF  CANAAN  AND  THE 
ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  MONARCHY. 

It  is  most  likely  that  some  small  Hebrew 
tribes  hailing  from  Arabia  were  settled  for  a 
time  in  parts  of  Egypt  and  for  some  reason  were 
impelled  to  leave  and  to  resume  their  nomadic 
life.  That  there  were  600,000  men  on  foot  as 
Exodus  has  it,  which  would  indicate  a  popula- 
tion of  at  least  3,000,000  is  preposterous.  When 
they  reached  the  Sinai  peninsula  they  were 
probably  joined  by  several  other  related  Hebrew 
tribes  and  all  may  have  remained  with  their 
flocks  in  this  fertile  spot  for  a  long  time  until 
they  determined  to  invade  Canaan.  How  Moses 
inspired  them  with  faith  in  their  tribal  God 
Jehovah  who  was  their  patron  and  always  led 
them  to  victory  and  what  decrees  he  issued  af- 
fecting their  cult,  their  sacrifices  and  cere- 
monies, we  do  not  know,  for  no  written  record 
could  have  been  made  at  the  time.    They  were  a 

42 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  43 

rude  semi-barbarous  people  who  did  not  differ 
much  from  the  other  nomadic  tribes  with  whom 
they  came  into  contact. 

The  versions  contained  in  the  Pentateuch  and 
Joshua  were  transmitted  orally  for  many  cen- 
turies, and  the  original  legends  with  the  tradi- 
tional accretions  and  many  later  views  are  so 
intermixed  that  the  historical  basis  is  very  diffi- 
cult to  determine.  The  bond  that  held  all  the 
different  but  related  elements  together  was  their 
faith  in  their  tribal  God  Jehovah  who  had  never 
deserted  them  and  whom  they  may  have  wor- 
shiped long  before  Moses. 

*  *  The  promised  land  '  *  which  they  determined 
to  invade  appeared  in  roseate  hues  to  them  in 
comparison  with  their  former  haunts.  In 
reality,  however,  only  some  parts  were  very 
fertile,  some  mountainous  and  others  bleak  and 
barren.  The  territory  was  quite  small  in  extent, 
only  about  150  miles  in  length  and  varying  from 
50  to  100  miles  in  width,  an  area  comparable 
with  the  little  state  of  Vermont.  It  is  situated 
between  latitude  31  degrees  and  33  degrees  20 
minutes,  which  corresponds  to  the  most  southern 
part  of  the  state  of  Georgia.   At  the  time  of  the 


44  The  Old  Testament : 

Hebrew  invasion  a  narrow  strip  along  tlie 
southern  coast  of  Canaan  was  occupied  by  the 
Philistines.  They  were  not  of  Semitic  origin 
and  had  come  by  sea.  They  were  warlike  and  of 
advanced  civilization,  wearing  helmets,  using 
metallic  weapons  and  chariots  and  knew  the 
art  of  building  fortifications. 

Somewhat  farther  north  along  the  coast  ex- 
tending towards  Sidon  and  Tyre,  we  find  the 
Phenicians,  a  peaceful  commercial,  seafaring 
people,  the  most  successful  traders  of  the 
period,  whose  ships  covered  the  Mediterranean 
and  even  ventured  to  the  coasts  of  France  and 
Spain.  They  were  of  Semitic  origin  and  in 
speech  closely  related  to  the  Hebrews. 

The  greater  part  of  the  population  that  oc- 
cupied the  rest  of  the  country  were  the  Canaan- 
ites,  who  were  also  of  Semitic  origin,  while  a 
few  other  tribes  and  clans  were  interspersed. 
They  had  been  under  Babylonian  sway  and  no 
doubt  had  acquired  some  of  their  culture. 
Afterwards,  up  to  the  fourteenth  century  B. 
C.  they  had  been  ruled  by  Egypt,  but  at  the 
time  of  which  we  are  treating  its  control  was 
merely  nominal. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  45 

The  Hebrews  first  occupied  parts  of  the  ter- 
ritory east  of  the  Jordan.  As  they  crossed  the 
river  they  met  opposition  and  had  to  fight  a 
people  far  superior  to  them  in  civilization,  with 
fortified  towns  and  much  better  means  of  of- 
fence and  defence.  But  their  valor  and  per- 
sistence enabled  them  to  gain  a  foothold  here 
and  there  and  to  settle  peacefully  at  other 
points.  It  was  not  only  fighting  and  extermina- 
tion, for  they  intermarried  and  intermingled 
with  the  people  and  ultimately  obtained  a  con- 
siderable hold  upon  the  land,  although  struggles 
never  ceased  in  some  localities. 

As  the  Hebrews  began  to  occupy  the  land  to 
the  west  of  the  river  Jordan,  other  tribes  pushed 
in  after  them  and  took  possession  of  some  of 
their  sites  east  of  the  river.  It  must  be  men- 
tioned that  the  name  Hebrew  meant  ^^  the  peo- 
ple from  beyond  the  river  ' '  and  was  applied  to 
these  as  well.  The  special  twelve  tribes  we  have 
in  view  called  themselves  Bene-Israel,  but  they 
were  closely  related  to  others  occupying  part  of 
the  outlying  land  and  known  as  Moabites,  Edo- 
mites  and  Ammonites.  The  organization  and 
the  religious  beliefs  of  all  were  similar.    Each 


46  The  Old  Testament : 

tribe  worshiped  one  particular  God,  who  was 
their  protector  and  led  them  to  victory,  some- 
w^hat  as  Jehovah  was  looked  upon  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  development  by  the  children  of  Israel. 
The  Moabite  stone  discovered  in  1868  and  the 
only  monument  of  any  importance  thus  far 
found,  makes  this  perfectly  clear.  The  Moabite 
king  Mesha,  860  B.  C,  erected  this  stone  in 
honor  of  his  God  Chemosh,  because  while  this 
god  was  angry  with  his  grandfather,  he  allowed 
the  king  of  Israel  to  oppress  his  people,  and 
now  when  Mesha  had  again  found  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  Chemosh  he  told  him  *'  Go  and  attack 
the  Hebrew  king  Omri  and  thereupon  he  had 
gained  a  great  victory,  killing  7,000  men  and 
boys  and  women  and  girls. ' '  It  must,  however, 
be  stated  in  fairness,  that  a  female  goddess  was 
also  mentioned  and  not  all  critics  are  agreed 
that  the  three  tribes  fuUy  accepted  monolatry. 
This  form  of  belief  is  called  monolatry,  the 
worship  of  one  particidar  god  without  denying 
the  existence  of  others,  and  is  very  different 
from  monotheism,  the  worship  of  only  one 
supreme  being.  Primitive  Arabic  religion 
shows  striking  resemblances  to  the  beliefs  of  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  47 

Israelites.  It  also  accepted  monolatry,  devo- 
tion to  only  one  God,  and  knew  nothing  of  poly- 
theism or  the  gross  dualism  of  some  other 
Semitic  peoples. 

It  was  this  firm  faith  in  Jehovah  that  prob- 
ably welded  all  the  Israelitish  tribes  into  one 
common  bond  and  made  them  an  irresistible 
power.  For  Jehovah  had  led  them  ont  of  Egypt 
and  would  never  desert  them  and  while  not 
visible  he  manifested  himself  in  natural  phe- 
nomena and  was  present  in  the  ark  of  the  cove- 
nant. If  they  prospered  it  was  Jehovah's  bless- 
ing, if  adversity  met  them  it  was  his  punishment 
for  disobedience.  Whatever  happened  it  was 
not  Jehovah's  fault  but  their  own. 

If  we  keep  this  in  mind  the  Book  of  Judges 
becomes  quite  clear.  It  deals  with  the  two  cen- 
turies during  which  the  conquest  of  Canaan  was 
accomplished,  and  is  not  so  much  a  historical 
recital  of  events  as  an  effort  to  group  old 
legends  in  such  a  manner  as  to  teach  a  religious 
lesson.  It  is  full  of  discrepancies  and  indicates 
how  different  versions  were  used  by  a  late 
editor.  The  men  called  Judges  were  rather  suc- 
cessful chieftains  who  led  bands  in  warfare  and 


48  The  Old  Testament : 

thereby  attained  a  certain  administrative  and 
judicial  authority.  There  was  not  at  first  any 
united  action,  but  each  clan  struggled  for  itself. 
Nor  were  the  twelve  tribes  such  fixed  entities  as 
they  were  made  to  appear  at  a  later  date,  and 
they  did  not  originate  as  descendants  from  the 
twelve  sons  of  Jacob  as  described  in  the  Penta- 
teuch. All  the  stories  of  the  patriarchs  Abra- 
ham, Isaac,  and  Jacob  and  their  sons,  as  pro- 
genitors of  the  twelve  tribes  are  at  present 
considered  by  all  critics  as  merely  legends  in- 
vented to  account  for  certain  conditions.  The 
names  for  these  men  were  associated  with  some 
old  sanctuaries  in  Canaan — Abraham  with  Bar- 
sheba  and  Hebron,  Jacob  with  Bethel  and  oth- 
ers with  similar  places — and  about  these  local 
shrines  a  mass  of  traditions  gathered.  These 
were  used  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  tribes  and 
genealogical  tables  were  invented  and  con- 
structed accordingly.  It  is  possible  that  some  of 
them  were  real  historical  personages,  but  it  is 
certain  that  they  could  not  have  played  the  role 
assigned  to  them  in  the  Old  Testament  nar- 
ratives. 
We  must  keep  in  mind,  moreover,  that  at  this 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  49 

stage  the  notion  had  not  arisen  that  Israel  was 
the  chosen  people  of  God  and  that  cult  and  cere- 
monial did  not  keep  them  apart  from  others. 
In  fact  many  of  them  while  holding  Jehovah  as 
a  special  God,  also  sacrificed  to  Baal  and  other 
deities.  They  came  into  the  land  as  rude  semi- 
barbaric  nomadic  hordes  and  brought  in  con- 
tact with  the  inhabitants  possessing  a  higher 
civilization  they  settled  among  them,  inter- 
married and  acquired  agriculture  and  other 
arts  of  peace.  They  were  in  fact  related  in 
race  and  language  to  the  Canaanites  and  when 
they  had  defeated  them,  these  readily  merged 
with  the  Hebrew  clans  and  tribes,  which  at  no 
time  were  of  such  significance  as  they  were 
made  to  appear  at  a  much  later  date. 

While  thus  the  larger  part  of  the  Canaanites 
had  either  been  amalgamated  with  the  Israelites 
or  lived  in  peace  with  them,  the  Philistines 
were  troublesome  neighbors.  Tow^ards  the  end 
of  the  period  described  as  the  rule  of  the 
Judges,  they  overran  a  considerable  section  of 
the  territory  occupied  by  the  Hebrews  and  put 
a  most  galling  yoke  upon  them.  These  condi- 
tions seemed  to  have  had  a  very  depressing  ef- 


50  The  Old  Testament: 

feet  upon  the  mass  of  the  people  and  many  be- 
gan to  doubt  that  Jehovah  was  really  their  pro- 
tector or  that  he  was  more  powerful  than  the 
Baalim  and  other  gods.  As  a  counterpart  bands 
of  religious  zealots  began  to  arise  that  w^ere 
called  ^  ^  Sons  of  the  Prophets,  *  ^  but  these  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  later  prophets,  who 
were  men  of  a  quite  different  type.  These  bands 
collected  about  the  sanctuaries  and  with  wild 
music,  dances  and  similar  exhortations  worked 
themselves  into  a  state  of  ecstasy  similar  to 
Mohammedan  dervishes  or  participants  in  re- 
vival meetings  of  southern  colored  folks.  Such 
performances  had  not  been  known  in  the 
Jehovah  cult  and  they  were  probably  adopted 
from  the  Canaanites  who  employed  them  in 
their  Baal  worship.  However,  these  religious 
fanatics,  while  haranguing  for  Jehovah  also 
aroused  the  patriotic  instinct,  for  in  the  minds 
of  the  people  Jehovah  worship  and  the  welfare 
and  prosperity  of  the  country  were  identical. 

Samuel,  a  man  of  larger  grasp  and  deeper 
insight  while  not  one  of  them  must  have  been 
in  touch  with  them  and  to  have  appreciated 
their  usefulness.    He  was  a  man  of  much  in- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  51 

fluence,  acted  as  judge  and  local  leader,  was 
looked  upon  as  a  soothsayer  and  enjoyed  respect 
generally.  The  principal  sanctuary  at  Shiloh 
over  which  he  had  presided  was  in  ruins,  the 
priests  scattered  and  the  conditions  desperate. 
He  must  have  often  brooded  upon  the  means  of 
throwing  off  the  Philistine  yoke  and  re-estab- 
lishing the  Jehovah  worship  and  freedom. 
Among  the  people  the  conviction  was  beginning 
to  prevail  that  a  king  was  wanted,  a  leader  who 
could  unite  them  to  attack  the  Philistine  rule 
and  to  overthrow  it. 

By  happy  chance  a  young  man  from  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  Saul  by  name,  came  to  consult 
Samuel  as  a  soothsayer  on  a  private  matter. 
He  was  a  giant  in  stature  and  his  bearing  and 
manner  impressed  Samuel  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  became  convinced  he  was  the  person 
to  lead  the  revolt  against  the  Philistines.  He 
anointed  him  as  king  and  proclaimed  to  the 
people  that  Saul  would  lead  them  in  battle  and 
restore  them  to  liberty  and  re-establish  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah. 

Saul  assembled  the  men  of  his  tribe,  attacked 
the  garrison  at  Geba  and  killed  its  commander. 


52  The  Old  Testament : 

The  Philistines  at  once  collected  an  army,  but 
the  men  of  the  other  tribes  of  Israel  did  not  dare 
to  join  Saul  or  to  rise  against  their  oppressors. 
When  Saul  had  defeated  the  Philistines  his 
victory  at  once  inspired  the  timid,  and  he  was 
hailed  as  the  deliverer  whom  Jehovah  had  sent 
and  support  reached  him  from  many  tribes. 
Naturally  there  were  opponents  too,  but  the  con- 
tinued struggles  against  the  Philistines  and  the 
other  neighbors  compelled  the  people  to  act 
in  common  and  to  rally  around  him.  For  the 
Moabites  and  Ammonites  east  of  the  Jordan  and 
the  Arameans  to  the  north  harried  them  inces- 
santly while  they  were  occupied  with  their  prin- 
cipal foes.  However,  warfare  against  the  in- 
habitants east  of  the  Jordan  produced  results 
of  lasting  value,  because  they  remained  loyal 
and  became  a  strong  support  to  SauPs  suc- 
cessors. Saul's  attack  on  the  Amalekites  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  land  west  of  the  Jordan  is 
also  of  great  importance.  This  territory  with 
Hebron  as  its  center  was  not  as  yet  combined 
with  Judah  and  neither  it  nor  Judah  had  been 
incorporated  into  the  Hebrew  state. 
While  Saul  under  the  circumstances  accom- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  53 

plished  much  and  was  generally  successful,  he 
seemed  to  have  fallen  into  displeasure  with 
Samuel  and  the  priestly  party.  The  reason  for 
this  is  only  intimated  and  not  clearly  expressed. 
He  was  very  astute  in  selecting  military  cap- 
tains to  assist  him,  but  probably  being  more  of 
a  warrior  than  a  statesman  he  looked  chiefly  to 
political  results  and  did  not  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  zealots  and  the  priestly  party.  The 
harassing  border  warfare  and  the  intrigues  and 
jealousies  of  his  own  supporters  finally  induced 
a  state  of  deep  melancholia  in  him.  To  distract 
and  amuse  him  a  young  man  from  the  tribe  of 
Judah  was  invited  to  court.  This  was  David, 
whom  he  had  already  recognized  as  a  gallant 
warrior  of  great  promise  and  had  entrusted 
with  a  command.  He  soon  gained  favor  at  court 
so  that  Saul  married  him  to  his  daughter.  But 
these  very  successes  aroused  suspicion  and 
jealousy  in  Saul  and  to  save  himself  David  had 
to  flee.  Being  restless  and  enterprising  he  led 
the  life  of  an  outlaw  and  a  free  lance. 

The  warfare  that  the  Philistines  waged  had 
never  led  to  a  decisive  result.  At  times  they 
were  victorious  and  then  again  they  suffered 


54  The  Old  Testament: 

defeat  until  at  length  they  determined  to  make 
an  overwhelming  effort  to  crush  the  Hebrew 
forces.  They  collected  a  large  army  and  took 
their  position  on  the  northern  side  of  the  plain 
of  Esdraelon.  SauPs  troops  were  encamped  on 
the  southern  side  of  the  plain,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  he  had  the  full  support  of  all  the  tribes. 
The  battle  took  place  at  Gilboa  and  though 
Saul  was  disheartened  he  fought  with  great 
valor.  When  the  rout  set  in  he  committed  sui- 
cide rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies.  Three  of  his  sons  were  also  killed  in 
the  same  battle.    The  defeat  was  crushing. 

Saul  had  ruled  for  about  20  years  from  1030 
to  1010  B.  C.  and  while  not  a  great  king  he  ac- 
complished results  that  laid  the  foundations  for 
the  future  state.  He  was  a  man  of  simple  habits, 
direct  in  his  methods  and  of  a  fiery  and 
impetuous  temperament  which  inspired  others 
to  follow  him.  In  fierce  assaults  he  was  irresist- 
ible but  he  lacked  the  foresight  and  planning  of 
generalship.  He  united  the  tribes  in  warfare 
and  taught  them  the  lesson  of  patriotism  and 
cooperation.  Beyond  that  he  did  not  go.  He 
did  not  introduce  institutions  or  administrative 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  55 

methods  that  could  weld  the  divergent  elements 
into  one  homogeneous  nation.  That  task  was 
left  to  his  successors. 

When  David  had  been  hard  pressed  in  his 
pursuit  by  Saul,  he  finally  fled  to  Achish,  king 
of  Gath,  one  of  the  Philistine  cities.  He  re- 
ceived a  friendly  reception  as  an  enemy  of  Saul, 
and  Ziklag  on  the  southwest  of  Judah  was  as- 
signed to  him  as  a  residence.  Here  he  played  a 
difficult  role  in  professing  loyalty  to  the  Philis- 
tines while  at  the  same  time  endeavoring  to 
preserve  the  affections  of  the  Israelites.  At  the 
battle  of  Gilboa  he  was  to  join  Achish  as  his  fief, 
but  fortunately  being  distrusted,  he  escaped  the 
dilemma. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  relation  between 
Saul  and  David,  as  presented  in  the  narratives 
preserved,  is  somewhat  obscure.  It  does  not 
appear  why  Saul  was  so  jealous  of  David.  Did 
he  read  in  his  character  the  ambition  to  assume 
the  kingship  and  also  traits  that  seemed  treach- 
erous and  unscrupulous? 

Another  question  is  why  the  Philistines  re- 
ceived David  so  heartily  and  entrusted  him  mth 


56  The  Old  Testament : 

a  certain  power.  Possibly  solely  because  he  was 
an  enemy  of  Saul. 

While  these  problems  cannot  be  solved  posi- 
tively by  such  information  as  we  possess,  they 
have  given  rise  to  some  speculation.  Certain 
critics  bring  forward  the  notion  that  David  may 
not  have  been  of  pure  Semitic  stock,  but  de- 
scended in  part  from  Philistine  ancestry  and 
hence  the  affiliation  and  his  warlike  and  domi- 
neering character. 

Far  reaching  conclusions  are  drawn  from 
these  conjectures  upon  which  the  limited  space 
of  a  short  outline  of  the  subject  does  not  permit 
us  to  enter. 

After  the  battle  of  Gilboa  when  the  Philistines 
were  masters  of  central  Canaan,  the  Judeans 
were  glad  to  make  David  their  king.  The  Philis- 
tines cheerfully  acquiesced  since  he  was  their 
vassal  and  he  was  installed  in  the  chief  city  of 
the  south,  at  Hebron.  But  David's  ambition 
was  from  the  first  to  make  himself  king  of  the 
whole  Hebrew  people.  With  that  object  in  view 
he  was  wary  and  politic.  He  openly  lamented 
the  death  of  Saul  and  praised  him  in  glowing 
terms,  and  intimated  to  the  northern  tribes  that 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  57 

he  would  willingly  include  them  in  his  rule.  For 
that  the  time  was  not  yet  ripe.  SauPs  leading 
general,  Abner,  had  retreated  with  the  remnants 
of  the  shattered  army  to  the  other  side  of  the 
Jordan  and  proclaimed  Saul's  son,  Ishbaal, 
king.  He  was  a  mere  boy  and  Abner  was  the 
real  ruler.  A  fratricidal  struggle  led  by  Abner 
and  David's  general  Joab  was  kept  up  for  seven 
years  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  Judeans  were 
masters  of  the  field.  David  had  kept  in  the 
background  and  had  greatly  strengthened  his 
position  before  the  people.  The  elders  of  north- 
ern Israel  began  to  realize  that  David  was  the 
only  man  that  could  consolidate  the  nation. 
During  the  negotiations  for  peace,  Abner  was 
treacherously  murdered  and  Ishbaal  was  killed 
by  two  Benjamite  captains.  David  was  innocent 
of  these  crimes,  punished  the  perpetrators  and 
promptly  and  openly  proclaimed  his  disap- 
proval of  such  deeds.  In  fact  his  policy  was 
opposed  to  such  methods,  for  he  strove  con- 
stantly to  impress  the  northern  tribes  that  he 
was  a  friend  of  Saul 's  and  as  his  son-in-law  his 
rightful  successor.  The  northern  and  eastern 
tribes  could  not  fail  to  see  that,  surrounded  as 


58  The  Old  Testament: 

they  were  by  enemies  on  every  side,  their  salva- 
tion lay  in  entrusting  the  rule  to  a  strong  hand 
that  could  combine  them  and  free  them  from 
foreign  oppression. 

In  this  connection  it  must  be  pointed  out,  that 
Judah  which  now  played  so  prominent  a  role, 
was  a  recent  creation.  Saul  had  begun  by  con- 
quering some  of  the  clans  that  surrounded  the 
insignificant  tribe  of  Judah  located  around 
Bethlehem.  David  continued  this  policy  with 
great  skill  and  on  a  larger  scale  and  merged  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  south  that  he  could  reach 
into  the  now  mighty  tribe  of  Judah.  But  this 
strength  and  commanding  influence  of  the  south 
provoked  the  jealousy  of  the  northern  tribes 
and  constituted  a  danger  to  the  new  state.  How- 
ever, there  was  no  alternative  and  David  was 
again  solemnly  crowned  king  of  all  Israel  at 
Hebron  about  1000  B.  C.  This  was  virtually  a 
challenge  to  the  Philistines  who  immediately 
opened  warfare  against  their  vassal,  which  was 
long  and  tedious  and  ended  in  their  complete 
discomfiture.  David  next  captured  the  old, 
strong  fortress  of  the  Jebusites,  a  Canaanitish 
tribe,  and  called  it  Jerusalem,  and  made  it  his 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  59 

capital.  It  was  very  favorably  situated  on  the 
border  between  Judah  and  Benjamin  and  being 
neutral  ground  tended  to  allay  the  antagonism 
between  north  and  south.  David  also  made 
Jerusalem  the  religious  center  of  the  state,  and 
the  ark  was  transported  there  with  great  cere- 
mony and  he  '  ^  danced  before  the  Lord  with  all 
his  might. ' ' 

After  the  Philistines  had  been  so  thoroughly 
defeated  that  they  lost  some  of  their  strongholds 
and  were  restricted  to  a  narrow  strip  along  the 
coast,  they  kept  quiet.  David  then  had  time  to 
subjugate  in  turn  the  Moabites,  the  Edomites, 
the  Amalekites,  the  Ammonites  and  the  Ara- 
means.  Some  of  the  territory  he  annexed  out- 
right, other  parts  he  left  under  their  former 
kings,  but  made  them  all  tributary.  His  king- 
dom at  its  height  extended  from  the  Red  Sea  in 
the  south  to  Damascus  in  the  north  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  narrow  strip  held  by  the 
Philistines,  from  the  Mediterranean  in  the  west 
to  the  Arabian  desert  in  the  east.  It  was  the 
largest  in  extent  ever  controlled  by  the  Hebrew 
people.  Their  position  was  so  commanding  that 
their  friendship  was  sought  by  the  king  of  Tyre 


60  The  Old  Testament : 

and  other  neighboring  states.  Joab,  captain  of 
the  host,  was  ordered  to  take  a  census  and  re- 
ported 800,000  fighting  men  in  Israel  and  500,000 
in  Judah.  Of  course  this  was  a  mere  guess  and 
enormously  overestimated.  It  would  indicate  a 
population  of  probably  5,000,000,  while  modern 
historians  estimate  that  at  no  time  could  it  have 
exceeded  1,000,000.  Our  state  of  Vermont  which 
compares  with  it  in  area  has  but  350,000  in- 
habitants. 

These  conquests  brought  about  the  consolida- 
tion and  prosperity  of  the  people  and  are  a 
proof  of  the  great  ability  and  statesmanship  of 
David.  However,  they  were  possible  only  be- 
cause Egypt  as  well  as  Assyria  was  too  pre- 
occupied with  other  matters  to  pay  any  heed  to 
foreign  affairs. 

In  his  family  relations  David  was  not  so 
fortunate.  A  large  part  of  his  difficulties  were 
due  to  the  number  of  wives  that  filled  his 
harem.  Some  of  the  marriages  were  contracted 
with  a  view  of  strengthening  his  position  and 
acquiring  wealth.  One  at  least  was  not  free 
from  unscrupulousness  and  even  criminality. 
The  names  of  seventeen  of  his  sons  are  men- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  61 

tioned.  The  intrigues  that  are  inseparable 
from  such  conditions  can  readily  be  imagined. 

Complications  of  a  more  serious  character  also 
arose.  One  of  his  sons,  Absalom,  had  been  guilty 
of  the  murder  of  a  brother,  who,  however,  had 
fully  deserved  punishment  for  his  ill  conduct. 
Absalom  fled  to  escape  his  father  ^s  wrath,  but 
after  a  few  years  he  was  allowed  to  return. 
He  immediately  began  to  ingratiate  himself 
with  the  people,  and  after  years  of  deceit  and 
hypocrisy  succeeded  in  collecting  the  discon- 
tented elements  about  him.  The  conspirators 
met  at  the  old  Judean  capital,  Hebron,  and 
most  of  the  nobles  of  David's  court  joined  the 
movement  and  proclaimed  Absalom  king.  This 
action  of  the  nobles  is  not  astonishing  since 
every  strong  monarch  must  curb  the  arbitrari- 
ness and  encroachments  of  local  chieftains 
whereby  he  is  apt  to  incur  their  emnity. 

David  was  completely  taken  by  surprise  and 
had  to  flee.  He  was  accompanied  by  Joab  and 
his  principal  military  leaders,  as  well  as  by  his 
faithful  bodyguard  of  six  hundred  Philistines 
upon  whom  he  could  always  depend.  Some  of 
the  higher  priesthood  also  went  with  him.    He 


62  The  Old  Testament : 

made  a  stand  at  Mahanaim  among  the  tribes 
east  of  the  Jordan,  where  he  found  many  sup- 
porters that  rallied  around  him.  Absalom  had 
lost  the  opportunity  of  striking  quickly  and 
when  the  two  armies  met,  he  was  defeated  in 
the  decisive  battle  that  followed.  In  his  flight, 
Absalom  was  caught  by  his  hair  in  the  branches 
of  a  tree  and  Joab  stabbed  him,  contrary  to  the 
injunction  of  the  king.  This  ended  the  re- 
bellion, but  David  lamented  the  death  of  his 
son.  At  this  crisis  he  again  showed  his  astute- 
ness and  ability  as  a  ruler.  He  displayed  great 
moderation  towards  the  defeated  party  and 
felt  the  necessity  of  conciliating  them.  The 
animosity  between  the  north  and  the  south  and 
the  hatred  of  Saul 's  partisans  were  elements  of 
danger  that  he  fully  realized  and  he  granted 
full  amnesty  to  all.  Another  small  rebellion 
occurred  somewhat  later  but  it  was  quickly  sub- 
dued by  Joab.  He  was  a  cruel  and  remorseless 
man,  but  his  energy  and  military  ability  pre- 
served the  unity  of  the  state. 

The  last  years  of  David's  reign  passed  peace- 
fully. When  he  was  far  advanced  in  years 
and  very  decrepit,  his  oldest  surviving  son. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  63 

Adonijah,  aspired  to  become  his  successor  and 
surrounded  himself  with  the  leading  nobles  and 
military  chiefs,  including  Joab.  No  overt  act 
was  done  but  the  opposition  feared  his  eleva- 
tion to  the  throne.  The  consummation  of  this 
scheme  Bath-sheba,  David's  favorite  wife,  was 
determined  to  prevent  for  she  wished  her  son 
Solomon  to  be  the  next  king.  The  relation  of 
David  to  this  woman  was  a  blot  upon  his  char- 
acter, for  he  had  ordered  her  husband,  his  gen- 
eral Uriah,  to  a  most  dangerous  position  in  an 
assault,  with  a  view  of  having  him  killed  that 
he  might  marry  his  widow.  By  intrigue  and 
pleadings  she  now  induced  David  to  proclaim 
Solomon  king.  He  was  duly  anointed  and  his 
opponents  had  to  acquiesce.  David  passed  away 
shortly  thereafter. 

He  had  reigned  forty  years  and  was  un- 
doubtedly the  greatest  king  the  Hebrew  people 
produced.  Rising  from  a  humble  station  to  the 
position  of  a  powerful  monarch  he  founded  a 
kingdom  by  shrewdly  judging  and  utilizing  men 
and  situations,  favored  by  fortunate  circum- 
stances. He  was  not  only  an  able  warrior  like 
Saul,  but  showed  tact  and  constructive  states- 


64  The  Old  Testament: 

manship.  He  was  not  the  saintly  character 
later  prophetic  writers  endeavored  to  make  him 
appear.  He  was  a  man  of  his  time,  brutal,  un- 
scrupulous and  deceitful,  but  with  great  per- 
sonal charm  and  kindness  of  heart  withal.  He 
was  no  worse  than  his  contemporaries,  but  by 
no  means  the  ideal  hero  and  the  devout,  humble 
worshiper  of  the  Jehovah  of  the  prophetic 
period. 

In  his  religious  views  and  acts  he  did  not  rise 
above  the  concepts  of  his  time.  Jehovah  was 
to  him  a  powerful  tribal  God  whose  good-will 
he  must  obtain  to  be  successful.  He  adhered 
to  all  the  superstitious  rites  of  the  Jehovah 
worship  then  prevalent,  largely  influenced  by 
the  Baal  service,  and  sacrificed  and  danced 
before  the  Lord  with  all  his  might.  During 
a  drought  he  consented  to  the  slaughter  of 
seven  of  Saul's  relatives  at  the  behest  of  the 
Gibeonites,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  Jehovah. 

He  possessed  various  accomplishments, 
played  on  musical  instruments  and  was  a  poet. 
Of  the  many  psalms  ascribed  to  him  some  may 
have  been  written  by  him,  although  this  is  not 
clearly  established.    Considering  how  much  he 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  65 

had  done  for  the  nation,  it  is  not  astonishing 
that  he  was  idealized  by  later  generations  when 
general  decay  had  set  in  and  he  shone  with 
additional  luster  by  contrast. 

Solomon  had  won  his  throne  by  intrigue, 
probably  against  the  wishes  of  his  people,  and 
at  once  proceeded  to  secure  it  by  the  methods 
of  an  oriental  despot.  On  some  slight  pretext 
he  had  his  brother  Adonijah  killed,  as  well  as 
the  aged  warrior  Joab,  who  had  been  his 
father's  trusted  supporter  and  had  conducted 
all  the  campaigns  in  the  latter  part  of  his  reign. 
He  did  not  dare  to  treat  the  high  priest  in 
the  same  manner,  but  deposed  and  banished 
him,  as  well  as  all  others  whom  he  feared. 

Solomon  had  neither  the  taste  nor  the  apti- 
tude for  war  and  the  weakness  of  his  policy 
became  apparent  at  once.  Shortly  after 
David's  death  the  standard  of  revolt  was 
raised  at  Edom  and  Solomon  lost  the  control 
of  this  province.  Before  long  a  leader  appeared 
in  the  north  who  made  himself  king  of  Damas- 
cus and  freed  the  Arameans  from  the  Hebrew 
overlordship.  This  monarch  became  the 
founder  of  a  dynasty  that  proved  to  be  one  of 


66  The  Old  Testament : 

the  most  dangerous  foes  the  kingdom  of  Israel 
had  to  meet  in  the  following  conturies.  In  the 
sonth,  Egypt  that  had  ignored  Canaan  for  a 
long  time,  began  to  assert  it  3lf.  The  reign- 
ing pharaoh  appeared  with  an  army  and  cap- 
tured the  fortress  of  Gezer.  This  danger  was 
averted  by  diplomacy.  Solomon  married  the 
daughter  of  the  pharaoh  and  Gezer  was  re- 
turned to  him  as  his  wife's  dowry.  Instead 
of  pursuing  his  father's  policy  of  aggression 
he  depended  almost  entirely  upon  diplomacy 
and  the  building  of  fortresses  and  defensive 
works  at  all  exposed  points.  On  the  other  hand 
some  of  his  relations  with  foreign  potentates 
were  of  great  value  to  his  people.  The  friendly 
intercourse  with  the  king  of  Tyre  which  had 
been  established  by  David,  became  more  cordial 
under  him  and  was  of  epoch  making  importance 
to  the  Hebrew  nation.  Its  immediate  purpose 
was  commercial,  an  exchange  of  commodities, 
which  in  fact  was  always  one  of  the  leading 
aims  of  Solomon's  reign.  He  made  treaties 
with  other  neighboring  states  whereby  trade 
was  facilitated  and  caravans  from  all  direc- 
tions arrived  in  his  territory.    With  the  help 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  67 

of  Hiram,  king  of  Tyre,  he  even  manned  ships 
on  the  Red  Sea  that  went  on  long  voyages, 
possibly  to  India,  and  came  back  laden  with 
treasures  and  curiosities  of  all  kinds. 

The  Hebrews  thus  far  had  struggled  to  get 
a  foothold,  then  to  possess  the  land  and  finally 
to  weld  the  different  elements  into  an  inde- 
pendent homogeneous  nation.  From  nomads 
they  had  become  agriculturists,  but  excluded 
from  contact  with  more  advanced  peoples  they 
remained  in  a  rude  and  primitive  condition. 
Now,  with  the  introduction  of  better  metallic 
tools  and  implements  of  various  kinds  from 
Tyre  and  other  sources  and  with  increasing 
commerce  and  wealth,  better  houses  and 
walled  cities  arose.  These  changes  in  their 
material  surroundings  modified  their  whole 
social  life.  But  of  more  value  and  of  greater 
influence  upon  their  progress  was  the  continued 
intercourse  with  civilizations  of  a  higher  type 
that  could  not  fail  to  widen  the  narrow  scope 
of  their  own  limited  horizon.  Through  their 
relations  to  Tyre  they  became  acquainted  with 
the  highest  culture  of  the  time  and  profited 
much  from  its  teachings.    Among  other  things 


68  The  Old  Testament: 

they  adopted  the  alphabet  and  probably  learned 
the  art  of  writing  from  the  Phenicians  as  the 
Greeks  did  at  a  later  date.  Solomon  certainly 
deserves  high  praise  for  his  intellectual  and 
artistic  tastes,  and  for  his  endeavors  to  im- 
press them  upon  his  people. 

Necessarily  there  is  also  a  dark  side  to  this 
picture.  Solomon  was  too  pleasure  loving  and 
too  luxurious  in  his  habits,  and  with  the  un- 
limited power  that  he  possessed  there  was  a 
tendency  to  display  the  traits  of  an  oriental 
despot.  He  maintained  a  very  large  harem 
and  the  whole  court  was  conducted  on  a  scale 
of  magnificence  and  extravagance  in  glaring 
contrast  with  the  simple  and  homely  manner 
of  his  predecessors.  He  had  a  passion  for 
building  and  wasted  sums  quite  out  of  propor- 
tion to  his  means.  The  king  of  Tyre  furnished 
him  cedars  from  Lebanon  and  other  materials 
which  amounted  to  about  $5,000, 000  and  since 
he  could  not  pay  for  them,  he  had  to  cede  twenty 
cities  in  the  northern  part  of  the  kingdom  to 
the  Phenicians.  To  increase  his  revenue  he  re- 
organized his  whole  administration.  He  di- 
vided the  kingdom  into  twelve  districts  over 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  69 

each  of  which  he  placed  an  official,  Judah  alone 
being  excepted.  Through  this  device  the  old 
tribal  distinctions  were  intentionally  obliter- 
ated, and  the  remnants  of  the  old  Canaanitish 
inhabitants  were  absorbed  and  ceased  to  exist. 
While  the  power  of  the  elders  was  considerably 
curtailed  by  this  change,  the  breaking  up  of 
tribal  distinctions  had  a  unifying  effect  upon 
the  people  and  in  that  respect  must  be  con- 
sidered an  advance. 

But  to  carry  on  these  extensive  building 
operations  and  his  luxurious  court,  he  had  to  tax 
the  people  very  heavily  and  many  Canaanites 
and  even  some  Israelites  were  compelled  to  do 
forced  labor,  a  peculiar  kind  of  oriental  serf- 
dom. Such  measures  were  exceedingly  oppres- 
sive and  distasteful  to  an  independent  and 
liberty-loving  people  such  as  the  Hebrews  had 
always  been. 

One  of  the  achievements  that  added  greatly 
to  Solomon's  renown  in  the  eyes  of  subsequent 
generations,  was  the  erection  of  the  temple. 
Priestly  and  prophetic  writers  of  a  later  period 
were  under  the  impression  that  worship  in  his 
time  had  been  conducted  in  strict  conformity 


70  The  Old  Testament: 

with  the  commands  of  Jehovah  and  also  that 
Solomon  had  been  imbued  with  such  a  concep- 
tion of  Jehovah  as  they  themselves  held.  But 
both  of  these  notions  were  erroneous,  for  his 
form  of  worship  as  well  as  his  beliefs  do  not 
seem  to  have  differed  much  from  those  of 
David.  He  looked  upon  Jehovah  as  the  par- 
ticular God  and  protector  of  the  Hebrews,  but 
as  he  erected  numerous  altars  for  the  various 
gods  of  his  many  wives,  he  could  not  have  con- 
sidered it  sacrilegious  to  recognize  these  as 
well,  however  inferior  he  might  have  thought 
them  in  potency.  He  shared  the  notion  that 
Jehovah  lived  among  his  people  and  that  he 
would  make  his  abode  in  the  innermost  chambers 
of  the  Temple.  This  was  the  Holy  of  Holies 
which  was  dark  and  we  read  in  I  Kings,  VIII- 
12-13:— 

''  Then  spake  Solomon,  the  Lord  hath  said 
that  he  would  dwell  in  the  thick  darkness.  I 
have  surely  built  thee  an  house  of  habitation,  a 
place  for  thee  to  dwell  in  forever.'' 

The  Israelites  were  too  rude  and  unskilled 
to  build  the  temple  themselves  and  artisans  and 
material  had  to  be  brought  from  Tyre  to  ac- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  71 

complish  it.  The  architectural  designs  as  well 
as  the  ornamentations  clearly  point  to  Egyp- 
tian, Syrian,  and  Babylonian  models.  Nor  was 
it  in  size  or  impressiveness  as  overwhelming  as 
assumed  at  a  later  period.  It  was  intended  and 
was  in  fact  a  part  of  the  palace  buildings  with 
which  it  was  connected  and  served  also  as  a 
strong  defensive  structure. 

At  this  time  the  functions  of  the  priesthood 
were  not  yet  clearly  defined  and  both  David 
and  Solomon  frequently  performed  sacrificial 
rites.  Any  person  was  at  liberty  to  do  so  and 
it  was  quite  customary  to  erect  altars  on  high 
places  and  to  sacrifice  without  the  assistance 
of  priests.  The  duties  and  functions  of  the 
priesthood  were  not  restricted  to  this  one  rite, 
but  consisted  also  of  taking  charge  of  sanc- 
tuaries, determining  the  will  of  Jehovah  by  cast- 
ing the  holy  lot,  consulting  oracles  and  similar 
performances.  For  the  new  temple,  priests 
were  appointed  by  Solomon  and  the  chief  of- 
fices thereafter  became  hereditary.  The  whole 
service  was  probably  remodeled  and  made  more 
impressive,   and  aided  by  the  imposing  new 


72  The  Old  Testament : 

structure  everything  tended  to  unify  and  con- 
centrate the  worship  in  Jerusalem. 

It  is  most  difficult  to  explain  the  great  fame 
Solomon  has  enjoyed  for  superhuman  wisdom. 
Modern  critics  seem  to  think  that  he  had  a 
ready  wit  and  was  subtle  and  cunning.  He  as- 
similated the  foreign  culture  so  readily  that  his 
people  were  dazzled  by  it.  Of  the  extensive 
writings  attributed  to  him,  he  is  the  author  of 
probably  only  a  small  part. 

The  reign  of  Solomon  extended  from  970  to 
933  B.  C.  and  it  must  undoubtedly  be  considered 
a  period  of  prosperity,  national  unity  and  im- 
portance that  the  Hebrew  state  never  attained 
again.  That  the  personality  of  Solomon  had 
largely  contributed  to  these  conditions  is  equally 
certain,  while  the  elements  of  decay,  for  some 
of  which  he  was  responsible,  were  already  mani- 
festing themselves  during  his  reign.  It  is 
the  defect  of  every  despotism  that  it  does  not 
create  institutions,  but  is  solely  dependent  upon 
one  personality  with  whose  demise  the  whole 
structure  is  imperilled. 


m. 


THE   DIVISION   OF   THE   KINGDOM   TO 
THE  FALL  OF  SAMARIA. 

Our  principal  information  about  the  erection 
of  the  monarchy  is  derived  from  the  two  books 
of  Samuel  and  before  continuing  with  the  re- 
cital of  historical  events  after  Solomon's  death, 
something  must  be  said  about  the  sources  that 
are  available.  These  are  the  first  and  second 
books  of  Kings  and  the  first  and  second  books 
of  Chronicles.  They  frequently  do  not  cor- 
respond in  details  and  some  matter  contained 
in  one  is  not  given  by  the  other.  Besides  they 
repeatedly  refer  to  the  book  of  the  kings  of 
Judah  and  Israel  and  other  writings  which  have 
been  lost.  This  makes  it  evident  that  both  were 
compilations  for  which  additions,  omissions, 
and  coloring  have  been  supplied  by  the  editors. 
Particularly  is  this  apparent  in  the  books  of 
Chronicles,  for  there  is  strong  internal  evidence 
that  they  were  not  written  before  300  B.  C.  and 

73 


74  The  Old  Testament : 

that  the  author  uses  expressions  and  ideas  cur- 
rent in  his  age  and  ascribes  them  to  these  early 
times. 

To  elicit  the  real  course  of  events  from  these 
data  has  been  the  aim  of  scientific  criticism. 
The  length  of  reigns  and  other  dates  are  also 
somewhat  confused  in  the  Hebrew  records,  but 
the  whole  chronology  has  been  fixed  with  con- 
siderable precision  with  the  aid  of  the  Assyrian 
inscriptions.  Unfortunately  the  political  events 
recorded  are  few  and  meagre,  the  main  pur- 
pose being  to  relate  small  details  of  priestly 
and  religious  concern  at  length  and  to  color 
everything  from  that  standpoint.  Happily  how- 
ever we  obtain  much  information  and  gain  a 
most  vivid  insight  into  many  political  and 
historical  events  from  the  writings  of  the 
prophets. 

Upon  the  death  of  Solomon  his  son  Rehoboam 
assumed  the  crown.  The  northern  tribes,  how- 
ever, were  discontented  with  the  heavy  taxa- 
tions and  the  burdens  imposed  by  Solomon  and 
with  his  partial  and  arbitrary  rule.  They  met 
in  the  old  northern  capital  of  Shechem  and  de- 
manded   that    Rehoboam    should    promise    to 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  75 

lighten  the  **  grievous  burdens  laid  upon  them 
by  his  father.*'  Eehoboam  was  sufficiently 
impressed  to  meet  them  in  person,  but  when  he 
saw  the  temper  that  prevailed,  he  was  alarmed 
and  was  glad  to  escape  to  Jerusalem.  He  con- 
ferred with  his  associates  and  took  the  advice 
of  the  younger  defiant  element  who  induced  him 
to  send  a  message  that  he  would  add  to  the 
heavy  yoke  imposed  by  his  father,  and  where 
his  father  chastised  them  with  whips,  he  would 
chastise  them  with  scorpions.  When  this 
reached  the  assembly  the  revolt  immediately 
took  form.  The  old  cry  was  revived  ^ '  We  have 
no  portion  in  David,  every  man  to  his  tents, 
Israel. ' ' 

During  the  reign  of  Solomon  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Jeroboam  had  started  an  uprising 
which  was  quickly  suppressed  and  he  escaped 
to  Egypt  where  he  was  hospitably  received  by 
a  new  pharaoh  who  had  overthrown  the  old 
dynasty.  When  Jeroboam  heard  of  the  death 
of  Solomon  he  hurried  back  and  was  at  once 
proclaimed  king  of  Israel.  He  had  the  support 
of  all  the  tribes  with  the  exception  of  Judah 
and  a  small  section  of  Benjamin,  which  was 


76  The  Old  Testament: 

joined  with  it.  Rehoboam  remained  king  of 
Jndah  and  the  little  state  had  the  advantage 
of  being  homogeneous  and  contented  also  that 
the  kingship  was  hereditary.  Modern  histori- 
ans estimate  the  population  of  the  kingdom  of 
Israel  at  850,000  and  that  of  Jndah  at  220,000. 

The  result  of  the  division  was  a  more  or  less 
continuous  warfare  which  extended  over  sixty 
years.  With  such  discord  and  the  growth  of 
neighboring  nations  the  destruction  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  was  only  a  question  of  time. 

Rehoboam  at  first  made  an  effort  to  subdue 
the  northern  kingdom,  but  afterwards  confined 
himself  chiefly  to  erecting  fortresses  and  to 
strengthening  all  defensive  positions.  The  new 
pharaoh  of  Egypt,  Shishak,  encouraged  Jero- 
boam to  divide  the  Hebrew  state,  and  at  one 
time  made  a  raid  during  which  he  captured 
Jerusalem,  carried  off  all  the  treasure  collected 
in  the  temple  and  the  palace,  and  proceeded  far 
into  the  territory  of  the  northern  kingdom. 
After  this  episode  the  war  between  the  two 
brother  nations  was  resumed,  but  Judah  could 
not  sustain  itself  and  had  recourse  to  desper- 
ate means  to  ward  off  certain  defeat. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  77 

Rehoboam  died  probably  about  917  B.  C.  and 
his  son  Abijam  succeeded  him.  He  applied  to 
the  king  of  Damascus  for  assistance  against 
Israel,  for  which  he  had  to  pay  tribute.  It  was 
a  short-sighted  and  dangerous  step,  for  ever 
thereafter  the  growing  Aramean  kingdom  did 
not  cease  to  intrigue  and  to  try  to  intervene  in 
Hebrew  affairs.  To  Abijam  it  may  have 
brought  temporary  relief,  and  at  least  he  had 
no  foes  to  fear  at  home  because  his  right  to  the 
throne  was  never  questioned.  He  died  about 
914  B.  C.  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Asa. 

Jeroboam  of  Israel  on  becoming  king  made 
Shechem  his  capital  and  designated  Dan  and 
Bethel  as  sanctuaries  under  his  special  patron- 
age. He  set  up  a  golden  calf  or  bull  in  each, 
which  in  later  times  was  construed  as  idolatry. 
But  a  bull  was  always  considered  a  symbol  of 
majesty  among  Semitic  peoples  and  it  was  em- 
ployed in  Solomon's  temple  at  various  points. 
Altogether  he  was  a  conservative  in  religion  and 
clung  to  old  practices  and  forms,  although  at 
this  time  as  under  Solomon,  the  Jehovah  and 
Baal  worships  were  probably  not  kept  apart 


78  The  Old  Testament ! 

very  rigidly,  either  in  the  northern  kingdom  or 
in  Jerusalem. 

Jeroboam  died  in  912  B.  C.  after  a  reign  of 
twenty-one  years  and  was  followed  by  his  son 
Nadab  who  was  assassinated  almost  immedi- 
ately by  a  man  named  Baasha.  Baasha  made 
himself  king  and  prosecuted  the  war  against 
Judah  vigorously.  The  Judean  king,  Asa,  was 
so  hard  pressed  by  him  that  he  sent  all  the 
treasure  he  had  left  to  Benhadad,  king  of  Da- 
mascus, to  assist  him.  This  attack  from  the 
north  compelled  Baasha  to  withdraw  from 
Judah  and  give  Asa  time  to  erect  fortifications ; 
but  for  this  temporary  relief  he  paid  dearly  by 
virtually  becoming  a  vassal  of  Damascus.  On 
Baasha  ^s  death  in  888  B.  C.  he  was  followed 
by  his  son  Elah,  who  ruled  only  a  short  time 
when  he  was  assassinated  by  one  of  his  officers. 
As  soon  as  the  army  heard  of  this,  it  elected 
its  general,  Omri,  king.  An  opposition  party 
selected  Tibni  and  only  after  his  death  and  a 
civil  war  that  lasted  four  years,  was  Omri 
generally  recognized. 

He  was  a  general  and  proved  an  able  ruler. 
Still  Benhadad,  king  of  Damascus,  was  a  power- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  79 

ful  and  dangerous  foe  and  compelled  Omri  to 
cede  a  number  of  cities  to  him  and  also  to  set 
aside  particular  streets  for  Aramean  traders 
in  his  new  capital  Samaria.  After  having  ob- 
tained these  concessions  which  secured  certain 
trade  routes  to  Damascus,  peace  was  restored. 
Omri  was  more  successful  in  his  expeditions 
against  Moab,  which  he  seems  to  have  subdued, 
as  the  Moabite  stone  testifies.  He  also  opened 
negotiations  with  Phenicia  and  married  his  son 
Ahab  to  Jezebel,  the  daughter  of  Ethbaal,  king 
of  Tyre.  This  again  permitted  the  civilizing 
influences  of  a  higher  culture  to  reach  the  king- 
dom of  Israel,  but  with  them  the  baneful  effects 
of  Phenician  cults. 

The  erection  of  the  new  capital,  Samaria,  a 
few  miles  from  Shechem  was  a  step  of  great 
importance,  as  its  location  was  central  and  it 
was  admirably  situated  for  a  defensive  posi- 
tion. Omri  was  very  successful  in  restoring 
order  and  peace  in  the  land,  which  is  proved 
by  his  dynasty  remaining  in  power  for  four 
generations.  He  was  a  wise  ruler  who  did  much 
to  bring  about  more  friendly  relations  -with 
Judah.     He  was  undoubtedly  the  ablest  king 


80  The  Old  Testament: 

that  Israel  had  and  his  position  somewhat  re- 
sembles that  of  David.  He  died  in  877  B.  C. 
after  a  reign  of  ten  years  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Ahab. 

As  already  stated  Ahab  married  Jezebel,  the 
daughter  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  and  thereby  re- 
verted to  the  policy  of  David  and  Solomon  of 
making  alliances  with  adjoining  states,  and  par- 
ticularly with  such  an  important  trading  center 
as  Tyre.  He  also  somewhat  resembled  Solo- 
mon in  being  splendor-loving  and  very  fond  of 
extensive  building.  But  Ahab  was  more  of  a 
general  than  Solomon  had  been  and  showed 
energy  and  enterprise  in  military  operations. 

In  his  policy  towards  Judah  he  pursued  a 
broad  and  liberal  tendency  and  improved  the 
friendly  relations  which  his  father  had  initiated. 
In  fact  the  Judean  kings  had  become  vassals 
of  Israel  and  joined  Ahab  as  well  as  his  sons 
in  their  wars. 

As  the  Assyrians  extended  their  conquests 
towards  the  west,  they  began  to  exert  consid- 
erable pressure  upon  Damascus  and  this  situa- 
tion Ahab  endeavored  to  utilize  to  free  himself 
from  the  overlordship  of  the  powerful  Aramean 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  81 

state.  He  was  soon  involved  in  a  series  of 
wars  with  Benhadad  of  Damascus  and  com- 
pelled him  to  restore  a  number  of  cities  which 
had  been  captured  from  his  father  Omri.  He 
was  lenient  to  his  defeated  foe,  possibly  as  a 
matter  of  policy. 

From  Assyrian  inscriptions  we  learn  that 
Ahab  fought  side  by  side  with  Benhadad  and  a 
number  of  princes  against  Shalmaneser  II.  at 
Karkar  in  854  B.  C.  The  Assyrian  king  claims 
to  have  defeated  the  combination,  but  the 
victory  could  not  have  been  decisive,  for  he 
did  not  follow  it  up  and  Damascus  and  Israel 
again  found  time  to  resume  hostilities.  It 
seems  Benhadad  did  not  fully  keep  his  promise 
to  restore  certain  cities,  so  that  war  was  re- 
sumed by  Ahab.  He  was  killed  in  battle  and  his 
army  deprived  of  its  leader  was  defeated.  This 
occurred  in  854  B.  C. 

After  the  death  of  Asa,  King  of  Judah,  in 
873  B.  C.  his  son  Jehoshaphat  ascended  the 
throne  and  went  to  Samaria  to  pay  tribute  to 
the  king  of  Israel.  Later  on  cordial  relations 
between  the  two  countries  were  still  further 
strengthened  by  the  marriage  of  Jehoram  of 


82  The  Old  Testament: 

Judah,  son  of  Jehoshaphat,  to  Athaliati,  a 
daughter  of  Ahab  of  Israel.  After  this  the 
court  of  Judah  lost  its  individuality  entirely  and 
aimed  only  to  imitate  the  example  of  Israel. 

Jehoshaphat  showed  much  enterprise  both 
in  his  internal  administration,  as  well  as  in  his 
foreign  relations.  He  built  cities,  reorganized 
the  army,  and,  subdued  some  wild  desert  tribes 
in  the  south,  which  again  gave  him  access  to  the 
sea.  On  the  other  hand  the  Edomites  revolted 
and  elected  their  own  king,  which  weakened  the 
little  state  still  further.  He  died  in  849,  and  his 
son  Jehoram  who  followed  him  reigned  only 
seven  years,  to  842  B.  C. 

Ahaziah,  son  Jehoram  of  Judah,  had  hardly 
ascended  the  throne  when  he  was  murdered 
by  Jehu. 

In  the  other  kingdom  on  the  death  of  Ahab 
of  Israel,  his  son  Ahaziah  ascended  the  throne, 
but  he  was  soon  seriously  injured  by  an  acci- 
dent and  died  within  a  year  or  two.  His 
brother,  Jehoram  of  Israel,  cousin  of  Jehoram 
of  Judah,  succeeded  him.  While  he  endeavored 
to  continue  his  father's  policy  he  did  not  pos- 
sess his  ability.    Mesha,  the  King  of  Moab,  re- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  83 

belled  and  Jehoram  with  Ms  vassals  besieged 
him  in  his  capital.  All  seeming  lost,  Mesha  in 
desperation  sacrificed  his  oldest  son  to  his  god 
Chemosh  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  which  pro- 
duced such  consternation  among  the  Hebrew 
army  that  it  fled.  This  enabled  Moab  to  finally 
throw  off  the  yoke  of  Israel  and  to  make  itself 
independent. 

A  change  of  dynasty  at  Damascus,  and  the 
threatening  attitude  of  Assyria  towards  it,  in- 
duced Jehoram  to  make  an  effort  to  free  him- 
self from  Aramean  dominion  and  to  recover 
the  territory  he  had  lost.  During  the  siege  of 
the  town  of  Ramoth-Gilead  he  was  seriously 
wounded  and  removed  to  his  residence  at 
Jezreel  to  recover.  He  entrusted  the  command 
of  the  army  to  his  chief  general,  Jehu.  Shortly 
thereafter,  in  842  B.  C.  Jehu  hastened  to  Jez- 
reel and  killed  Jehoram  and  made  himself  king. 

This  event  was  of  the  greatest  importance 
not  only  to  the  political,  but  particularly  to  the 
religious  history  of  the  nation. 

The  sons  of  the  prophets  whom  we  first  met  at 
the  time  of  Samuel  and  Saul,  had  become  an  es- 
tablished institution  and  seemed  to  have  formed 


84  The  Old  Testament : 

a  kind  of  guild.  They  either  lived  together  in 
groups  or  congregated  about  the  sanctuaries, 
and  exhorted  the  people  to  the  Jehovah  wor- 
ship by  their  ecstatic  performances.  They 
also  threw  the  holy  lot,  foretold  events  and  by 
similar  contrivances  made  a  precarious  living 
and  do  not  seem  to  have  exerted  much  influence. 
But  during  the  reign  of  Ahab  a  man  ap- 
peared, who  while  belonging  to  the  class,  was 
of  far  higher  intellectual  and  moral  calibre. 
This  was  the  so-called  prophet  Elijah.  He  was 
not  one  of  the  later  prophets  whose  writings 
we  possess,  but  he  was  undoubtedly  a  real  per- 
son, although  most  all  that  is  related  of  him 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  purely  legendary.  He 
was  a  man  who  had  preserved  the  rude  sim- 
plicity of  the  original  Jehovah  worship  and 
looked  with  horror  upon  the  inroads  the  Pheni- 
cian  Baal  cult  had  made  upon  it.  He  feared 
that  under  a  king  like  Ahab  who  had  erected 
a  Baal  temple  for  his  wife  Jezebel,  and  had 
himself  occasionally  sacrificed  at  its  altar,  a 
complete  amalgamation  might  be  effected.  He 
agitated  and  preached  so  powerfully  that  Ahab 
could  not  prevent  the  people  from  meeting  at 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  85 

Mt.  Carmel  and  on  that  occasion  from  killing 
all  the  priests  of  Baal  that  were  present.  The 
result  however  was  merely  transitory,  for 
Jezebel  retained  her  old  power.  Elijah  had 
some  disciples  among  whom  Elisha  was  his 
favorite. 

He  was  a  man  of  high  purpose  and  sterling 
character  and  endeavored  to  impress  his  peo- 
ple with  the  idea  that  Jehovah  was  a  jealous 
God,  who  permitted  no  other  gods  besides  him. 
Later  legend  describes  him  as  a  man  so  pure 
that  he  is  not  allowed  to  die  a  natural  death, 
but  that  Jehovah  had  him  ascend  to  Heaven  in 
a  fiery  chariot. 

On  his  death  Elisha  becomes  his  successor 
in  the  agitation  for  a  rigid  Jehovah  worship. 
Being  less  scrupulous  than  Elijah  he  thinks  the 
time  has  come  for  more  drastic  measures  to 
rid  the  state  of  the  rule  of  the  king  Jehoram. 
When  he  hears  that  the  king  is  wounded, 
Elisha  sends  a  son  of  the  prophets  with  some 
oil  to  the  camp  at  Ramoth-Gilead  to  anoint 
Jehu  and  to  proclaim  him  king.  Whether  there 
was  a  previous  understanding  or  not,  Jehu  ac- 
cepts at  once  and  secures  the  support  of  all  his 


86  The  Old  Testament: 

officers.  Then  in  great  haste  he  drives  to  Jez- 
reel  where  he  kills  Jehoram  and  his  cousin 
Ahaziah  of  Jndah,  and  to  complete  his  task 
thoroughly  he  has  Jezebel,  all  of  Jehoram 's 
children,  relatives  and  adherents  ruthlessly 
massacred.  To  still  further  secure  his  ascend- 
ancy he  assembles  all  the  priests  of  Baal  under 
the  pretence  of  worship  and  has  them  killed. 

When  the  Queen  Mother  Athaliah  in  Jerusa- 
lem heard  of  these  happenings,  she  feared  Jehu 
might  also  aspire  to  the  throne  of  Judah.  She 
promptly  has  all  her  former  husband's  rela- 
tives slaughtered  and  makes  herself  queen. 
There  was  only  one  exception,  her  little  grand- 
son Joash,  son  of  Ahaziah,  who  was  concealed 
by  his  aunt  who  had  married  the  high  priest 
Jehoiada.  Considering  the  times  and  the  uni- 
versal custom  of  blood  revenge  that  prevailed, 
which  imposed  it  as  a  sacred  duty  upon  the 
nearest  of  kin  to  slay  the  murderer,  we  are  not 
astonished  at  such  display  of  brutality. 

These  drastic  measures  terminated  the  Baal 
services,  but  the  Jehovah  bull  worship  by  which 
it  was  replaced  partook  of  many  features  of 
idolatry.     Still  in  one  direction  the  revolution 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  87 

produced  permanent  results  by  making  Jehovah 
supreme,  no  matter  what  the  form  of  worship 
might  be,  and  by  setting  the  Hebrew  nation 
apart  as  Jehovah's  special  people.  The  amal- 
gamation with  other  gods  became  impossible 
thereafter. 

Preceding  these  events  in  Israel,  Damascus 
had  gone  through  similar  experiences.  Benha- 
dad  the  Second  being  ill  was  assassinated  by 
Hazael  who  usurped  the  throne.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  energy  and  ability  and  showed  these 
qualities  in  coping  with  the  Assyrians.  Shal- 
maneser  the  Second  of  Assyria  defeated  Hazael 
and  laid  waste  the  land,  and  invested  the  city 
of  Damascus  but  could  not  capture  it.  After 
another  raid  which  was  unsuccessful  the  Assy- 
rians stayed  away  for  probably  thirty  years 
because  they  were  kept  busy  by  other  wars. 
This  circumstance  was  utilized  by  Hazael  to 
renew  hostilities  with  Jehu.  When  Hazael  was 
battling  with  the  Assyrians,  Jehu  instead  of 
coming  to  his  assistance,  had  together  with 
Tyre  and  Sidon  paid  tribute  to  Shalmaneser  the 
Second,  as  we  learn  from  cuneiform  inscrip- 
tions on  the  Black  Obelisk  at  London.    Hazael 


88  The  Old  Testament: 

partly  in  revenge  for  what  lie  considered  de- 
sertion, attacked  Jehn,  captured  a  considerable 
part  of  Israel  and  ravaged  the  territory  mur- 
dering and  torturing  the  inhabitants  in  the 
most  cruel  manner.  He  also  invaded  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  only  escaped  by  paying  a  heavy 
tribute. 

Jehu  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Jehoash  in 
815  B.  C,  who  could  not  prevent  the  dominion 
of  Damascus  to  be  still  further  extended  over 
Israel.  Nearly  the  whole  kingdom  founded  by 
David  was  controlled  by  the  Aramean  power 
and  Jehoahaz  was  humiliated  by  being  per- 
mitted to  keep  an  army  of  only  fifty  horsemen, 
ten  chariots  and  ten-thousand  footmen.  The  old 
enemies  of  the  Hebrews,  the  Philistines,  Moab- 
ites,  and  Edomites  took  advantage  of  these  con- 
ditions to  pillage,  to  plunder  and  to  carry 
off  the  defenseless  inhabitants  to  slavery. 
Drought,  famine  and  pestilence  did  their  share 
to  complete  the  desperate  situation.  Jehoahaz 
died  in  798  B.  C.  and  his  son  Joash  succeeded 
him. 

The  little  Hebrew  state  would  undoubtedly 
have  succumbed  to  the  rule  of  Damascus  in  a 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  89 

short  time  if  relief  had  not  come.  But  Assyr- 
ian inscriptions  tell  us  that  the  new  Assyrian 
king  Rammannirari  again  took  up  the  policy 
of  western  conquest.  About  800  B.  C,  Tyre, 
Sidon,  Philistia  and  Edom  were  subjugated  and 
the  Aramean  kingdom  overrun.  Under  this 
favorable  turn  of  affairs  Joash  became  king  and 
he  was  able  to  recover  a  number  of  towns  that 
had  previously  been  captured  by  Damascus. 

His  son  Jeroboam  II.  succeeded  him  in  783 
B.  C.  He  again  took  possession  of  Moab  and 
Damascus  was  too  weak  to  interfere.  He  ex- 
tended his  sway  in  every  direction  and  as  Judah 
was  also  able  to  recover  lost  ground,  and  had 
in  reality  become  a  vassal  to  Israel,  the  two 
Hebrew  kingdoms  comprised  nearly  as  much 
territory  as  the  original  state  of  David.  As  the 
Assyrians  were  too  busy  to  pay  any  attention 
to  Israel,  the  tribute  to  them  was  discontinued 
and  Jeroboam  II.  felt  and  showed  an  independ- 
ence not  exhibited  since  the  most  prosperous 
period  of  the  Hebrew  state. 

In  Judah  the  reign  of  Athaliah  had  been  of 
short  duration.  After  six  years,  in  836  B.  C. 
a   revolution  was   effected  by  her   son-in-law 


90  The  Old  Testament: 

Jehoiada,  wlio  had  her  killed  and  proclaimed 
her  grandson,  Joash,  king  of  Judah. 

This  movement  was  initiated  and  carried 
out  by  the  priesthood  of  Jehovah  and  not  by  the 
prophets,  as  in  Israel.  They  destroyed  the  Baal 
temples  and  shrines  and  killed  the  Baal  priests 
and  impressed  upon  the  people  their  special 
relation  to  Jehovah. 

With  Joash,  the  dynasty  of  David  was  rein- 
stated, and  owing  his  elevation  to  the  priest- 
hood, he  was  under  their  influence.  He  was  a 
weak  and  very  insignificant  person  and  his  long 
reign  is  devoid  of  interest.  When  Hazael  of 
Damascus  threatened  Jerusalem,  Joash  bought 
him  off  by  giving  him  all  the  treasure  in  the 
palace  and  temple.  He  finally  fell  a  victim  to  a 
conspiracy  of  his  servants  in  797  B.  C.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Amaziah  whose  policy  to- 
wards the  Jehovah  worship  was  similar  to  that 
of  his  father.  While  he  was  not  directly  ex- 
posed to  the  attacks  of  Damascus  as  long  as 
the  northern  kingdom  of  Israel  was  able  to 
cope  with  it,  still  he  felt  that  now  when  the 
Arameans  were  kept  busy  by  the  Assyrians 
he  could  act  mth  more  freedom.    He  attacked 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  91 

Edom  which  had  declared  its  independence  of 
Judah  and  reconquered  it.  He  also  recovered 
other  territory,  so  that  his  sway  again  extended 
to  the  sea  and  opened  valuable  trade  routes  for 
his  people.  These  successes  seem  to  have  made 
him  overestimate  his  power  and  his  ability,  for 
he  challenged  his  cousin  Joash  of  Israel.  At 
the  battle  of  Bethshemesh  he  was  deserted  by 
his  army  and  woefully  defeated.  Joash  cap- 
tured Jerusalem,  destroyed  a  part  of  the  walls 
of  the  city,  carried  ofP  the  treasure  and  took 
hostages  with  him.  Amaziah,  like  his  father 
became  the  victim  of  a  conspiracy.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Azariah,  or  Uzziah  in 
779  B.  C. 

During  the  period  we  are  now  describing, 
beginning  with  780  B.  C.  the  Hebrew  state 
under  Jeroboam  of  Israel  and  Azariah  of  Judah 
attained  a  very  high  degree  of  prosperity.  The 
original  invading  tribes  had  been  nomads,  then 
shepherds  and  finally  settled  down  as  agricul- 
turists on  a  small  scale.  There  was  no  manu- 
facturing industry,  but  the  Canaanites  had  been 
somewhat  of  a  trading  people  and  with  their 
absorption  the  Hebrews  also  began  to  engage 


92  The  Old  Testament : 

in  it.  While  they  occupied  a  part  of  the  coast 
on  the  Mediterranean  they  did  not  have  a  single 
harbor  in  that  direction  and  their  maritime 
ventures  were  confined  to  the  Eed  Sea  whenever 
they  had  access  to  it,  as  now.  On  the  other  hand 
most  important  trade  routes  traversed  the  land, 
connecting  Egypt  with  the  Persian  Gulf,  with 
Phenicia  and  Damascus  and  allowing  caravans 
to  carry  on  a  lucrative  trade.  These  very  ad- 
vantages, however,  were  the  cause  of  many 
wars  by  Damascus  as  well  as  by  Egypt  to 
control  them.  But  worst  of  all  the  little  state 
formed  the  connecting  link  between  the  Ara- 
mean  and  Phenician  territory  and  Egypt,  and 
made  its  possession  a  necessity  to  the  aggres- 
sive conquering  Assyrian  power  in  its  desire  to 
control  these  countries. 

Now  when  war  had  ceased  for  the  time  and 
order  was  restored  in  the  internal  administra- 
tion, the  natural  resources  of  the  land  soon 
brought  about  a  considerable  degree  of  pros- 
perity. But  the  results  of  the  long  wars  upon 
the  economic  and  social  status  of  the  people 
could  not  be  obliterated  so  quickly.  Conditions 
had  been  created  that  were  of  great  danger  to 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  93 

the  social  order.  Conquest  of  neighboring 
states  was  always  connected  with  plunder  and 
it  went  to  enrich  the  military  leaders  and  the 
.  favored  classes.  The  great  body  of  the  people 
had  furnished  the  soldiers,  of  whom  many  had 
been  killed  or  maimed,  and  left  the  masses  im- 
poverished and  living  in  wretchedness  and 
misery.  While  the  state  was  a  monarchy  its 
social  constitution  had  remained  democratic. 
The  tribal  organization  and  the  elders  that  rep- 
resented it  wielded  much  influence  and  there 
was  no  feudal  system  or  any  hereditary  nobility 
of  any  consequence.  But  the  wars  had  under- 
mined the  economic  and  with  it  the  social  struc- 
ture. The  small  landowners  could  no  longer 
sustain  themselves  and  the  rich  adventurers 
acquired  large  tracts  of  land.  The  sudden  ac- 
cumulation of  great  wealth  in  the  hands  of  the 
few  brought  with  it  luxury,  extravagance  and 
a  degree  of  immorality  that  threatened  to  wreck 
society.  Under  these  conditions  a  new  order 
of  prophets  arose  who  had  nothing  in  common 
with  the  so-called  sons  of  the  prophets,  but  who 
pointed  out  in  scathing  terms  the  prevalence  of 
an  amount  of  corruption  and  vice  that  would 


94  The  Old  Testament : 

lead  to  the  utter  destruction  of  the  state  if  not 
remedied. 

We  have  seen  how  Elijah  and  Elisha  in  their 
zeal  and  enthusiasm  for  Jehovah  had  brought 
about  the  reaction  or  revolution  through  which 
the  Baal  cult  was  extirpated.  They  were  men 
of  purity  of  character  with  strong  faith  in  their 
conviction,  but  their  conception  of  the  attri- 
butes of  Jehovah  did  not  rise  above  the  old 
ideas  of  monolatry.  Within  a  century,  how- 
ever, about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century, 
men  appear  who  fully  realize  the  critical  con- 
dition of  society  and  who  by  word  of  mouth  and 
in  writing  preach  in  a  tone  and  in  a  spirit  so 
exalted,  so  inspiring  and  so  advanced,  that 
their  advent  must  be  considered  epoch-making. 
Their  importance  is  generally  recognized,  but 
while  the  opinions  of  critics  very  nearly  coin- 
cide as  to  the  course  of  development  of  the 
Hebrew  people  and  their  religion  up  to  this 
period,  somewhat  divergent  views  are  held 
about  the  origin  and  the  construction  of  the 
writings  of  the  prophets.  None  of  them  have 
come  down  to  us  in  their  original  form  and 
the  problem  arises  to  determine  what  passages 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  95 

and  what  parts  may  be  additions,  alterations 
or  interpolations  due  to  copyists  or  editors  of 
mucli  later  times.  The  difficulty  of  the  subject 
is  further  complicated  by  the  standpoint  from 
which  it  is  viewed.  Critics  mth  a  theological 
bias  quite  naturally  incline  to  ascribe  a  divine 
inspiration  to  the  opinions  and  acts  of  the 
prophets,  while  they  do  not  insist  upon  such  in- 
fluences previous  to  this  period.  The  historical 
school  on  the  other  hand,  examines  every  record 
in  connection  with  this  subject  with  the  same 
freedom  and  desire  to  ascertain  the  true  course 
of  events,  that  it  applies  to  every  human  occur- 
rence. We  shall  endeavor  here  to  present  the 
subject  as  construed  by  these  purely  historical 
methods. 

We  meet  the  first  of  the  prophets  in  Amos, 
a  herdsman  born  in  Tekoa  five  miles  south  of 
Bethlehem  in  Judah.  He  goes  to  the  royal 
sanctuary  at  Beth-el  in  Israel  and  addresses 
the  people  with  an  impetuosity  and  a  frank- 
ness that  startles  the  high-priest,  who  advises 
him  to  escape  and  to  make  his  living  by  his 
regular  profession  of  prophet.  The  sons  of 
the  prophets  here  meant  were  looked  upon  with 


96  The  Old  Testament : 

contempt  as  either  sycophants  or  excitable  half- 
mad  fanatics.  He  replies  that  he  is  not  a 
prophet  by  profession  nor  by  descent,  but  that 
he  is  a  herdsman  and  dresser  of  fig-trees  and 
that  Jehovah  has  called  him  to  his  mission. 
His  prediction  of  the  fall  of  the  dynasty  and  his 
open  attack  on  social  conditions  makes  his  posi- 
tion untenable  and  he  is  compelled  to  flee  to 
Jerusalem  where  he  probably  met  a  circle  of 
faithful  adherents  of  the  Jehovah  worship  and 
from  where  most  likely  his  appeals  were  dis- 
seminated in  written  form. 

The  essence  of  his  sermons  consists  in  point- 
ing out  the  immoral  social  conditions  that  pre- 
vailed and  the  oppression  and  extortion  of  the 
poor.  He  says  *  *  Ye  trample  upon  the  poor  and 
take  exaction  from  them;  ye  have  built  houses 
of  hewn  stone,  but  ye  shall  not  dwell  in  them; 
ye  have  planted  pleasant  vineyards,  but  ye  shall 
not  drink  the  wine  thereof.  Ye  that  afflict  the 
just,  that  take  a  bribe,  and  that  turn  aside  the 
needy  in  the  gate  from  their  right. ^'  He  as- 
serts *  ^  The  virgin  of  Israel  is  fallen ;  she  shall 
no  more  rise :  she  is  cast  down  upon  her  land ; 
there  is  none  to  raise  her  up." 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  97 

There  are  a  number  of  prophecies  as  to  coun- 
tries that  the  Lord  will  punish,  giving  the  im- 
pression as  though  Jehovah  were  a  God  of  the 
Universe.  Nevertheless  and  while  he  has 
chosen  Israel  as  his  special  people,  he  will  for 
that  very  reason  punish  them  more  severely 
than  others.  These  latter  passages  are  consid- 
ered by  many  critics  as  additions  and  interpola- 
tions of  a  much  later  period.  It  seems  indeed 
most  unlikely  that  he  could  have  held  pro- 
nounced ideas  of  a  monotheistic  character,  but 
the  great  advance  that  he  introduced  in  that 
direction  is  the  overwhelming  stress  he  lays 
upon  morality  and  that  he  specially  emphasizes 
Eighteousness  as  the  lundamental  attribute  of 
Jehovah.  As  a  man  of  clear  vision  he  foresaw 
that  the  struggle  with  Assyria  while  postponed 
was  sure  to  come,  and  that  the  little  Hebrew 
state  must  succumb  unless  all  the  moral  forces 
were  rallied  to  withstand  the  onslaught.  Such 
a  general  reform  however  was  impossible  at 
the  time,  for  the  moral  decay  was  probably 
hardly  perceptible  to  the  average  man  and  the 
state  seemed  more  prosperous  than  ever.  This 
very  prosperity  was  construed  as  a  sign  that 


98  The  Old  Testament: 

Jehovah  approved  of  his  people  and  as  long 
as  sacrifices  were  brought  and  other  ceremonial 
observed  Jehovah  could  not  permit  them  to  be 
destroyed. 

But  when  the  very  able  and  long  reign  of 
Jeroboam  II.  ended  in  743  B.  C.  the  scene 
changed  quickly.  His  son,  Zechariah,  who  suc- 
ceeded him  was  killed  after  six  months  through 
a  conspiracy  headed  by  Shellum,  who  again  was 
slain  within  a  month  by  Menaham,  military  gov- 
ernor of  Tirzah.  He  retained  his  power  only 
by  the  most  brutal  methods  of  suppression  of 
all  opposition.  In  his  foreign  policy  he  became 
a  vassal  of  Tiglath-pileser  III.  of  Assyria  and 
paid  him  tribute. 

The  dynasty  of  Jehu  had  continued  about 
100  years  and  its  fall  was  due  besides  other 
internal  conditions,  to  the  struggle  for  su- 
premacy of  different  parties  favoring  alliances 
with  either  Assyria,  Damascus  or  Egypt.  With 
the  accession  of  Menahem  the  Assyrian  party 
had  gained  control.  Tiglath-pileser  III.  was  a 
mighty  conqueror  and  by  738  B.  C.  he  had  oc- 
cupied much  territory  north  of  Israel  and  al- 
most stood  at  its  borders.    Menahem  died  after 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  99 

six  years  in  737  B.  C.  and  his  son  Pekahiah  who 
followed  him  was  killed  within  a  year  or  two 
by  Pekah,  a  captain  of  his  army,  probably  about 
735  B.  C.  This  led  to  the  ascendancy  of  the 
anti- As  Syrian  party.  The  impending  struggle 
was  between  the  two  great  powers  of  Assyria 
and  Egypt  and  the  control  of  Canaan  was  de- 
sired by  both  of  them.  It  was  constantly  a  game 
of  intrigue  and  war. 

The  smaller  states  felt  the  terrible  extortion 
and  oppression  of  Assyria  and  growing  des- 
perate they  thought  their  only  hope  lay  in  com- 
bining against  Assyria  and  relying  upon  the 
promised  support  of  Egypt.  Many  however 
considered  such  a  step  most  dangerous,  having 
little  faith  in  either  the  strength  of  Egypt  or 
its  reliability  in  case  of  need.  Among  the  op- 
ponents of  such  an  alliance  was  Hosea,  the  only 
prophet  that  came  from  the  northern  kingdom 
of  Israel.  He  had  married  a  wife  that  proved 
faithless  to  him,  but  such  was  his  love  for  her 
that  he  took  her  back  again.  This  personal 
experience  he  applied  figuratively  to  the  rela- 
tion between  Jehovah  and  his  people.  While 
they  have  deserted  him  he  still  loves  them  so 


100  The  Old  Testament: 

that  after  their  deserved  punishment  he  will 
take  them  back  into  his  favor  again. 

While  Amos  dwelt  principally  upon  social 
and  political  conditions,  the  extortion  and  op- 
pression of  the  people,  the  absence  of  justice 
and  emphasized  the  righteousness  of  Jehovah, 
Hosea  lays  stress  upon  the  religious  aspect  and 
Jehovah  ^s  love  for  his  people.  He  says,  **  For 
the  Lord  hath  a  controversy  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  land,  because  there  is  no  truth,  nor 
mercy,  nor  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land.  .  .  . 
For  I  desire  mercy  and  not  sacrifices:  and  the 
knowledge  of  God  more  than  burnt  offerings. 
They  have  dealt  treacherously  against  me — 
and  as  the  troops  of  robbers  wait  for  a  man, 
so  the  company  of  priests  murder  in  the  way 
towards  Shechem.  .  .  .  Yet  I  am  the  Lord,  thy 
God,  from  the  land  of  Egypt:  and  thou  shalt 
know  no  God  but  me.'' 

But  Hosea  was  not  a  simple  countryman  like 
Amos,  for  he  showed  himself  a  man  of  the  world 
who  seemed  well  versed  in  the  intrigues  at  court 
and  the  current  political  talk  of  his  time.  Again 
he  says,  **  And  Ephraim  (Israel)  is  like  a  silly 
dove,  without  understanding:  they  call  unto 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  101 

Egypt,  they  go  to  Assyria;  and  they  make  a 
covenant  with  Assyria  and  oil  is  carried  into 
Egypt.  ^^ 

He  foresees  the  inevitable  destruction  of  the 
kingdom  and  hopes  for  the  rehabilitation  of  his 
people  by  Jehovah  after  their  chastisement. 
He  does  not  always  speak  in  the  direct  open 
manner  of  Amos.  He  is  often  allegorical  and 
much  of  his  writing  is  obscure.  No  doubt  the 
text  is  intermixed  with  much  foreign  matter, 
some  of  a  very  late  date. 

The  preaching  of  the  two  prophets  probably 
had  little  effect  upon  their  contemporaries,  but 
their  efforts  were  not  in  vain  for  they  exerted 
great  influence  upon  the  religious  development 
of  their  people. 

Under  Pekah  in  734  B.  C.  the  time  seemed 
favorable  for  shaking  off  the  Assyrian  yoke  be- 
cause Tiglath-pileser  III.  was  engaged  in  the 
East.  This  could  only  be  accomplished  by  a 
combination  of  the  smaller  states,  and  Israel, 
Damascus  and  some  Philistine  cities  were 
united,  but  Judah  would  not  join  them.  The 
allies  attacked  its  territory  to  compel  its  ad- 
hesion to  their  union  and  after  ravaging  the 


102  The  Old  Testament : 

land  they  invested  Jerusalem.  Before  they 
could  capture  it  Tiglath-pileser  had  arrived  in 
Canaan.  He  occupied  a  large  part  of  the  north- 
ern territory  of  Israel,  then  hurried  south  to 
cut  off  all  possibility  of  Egyptian  aid.  Jerusa- 
lem being  relieved  he  completed  the  subjuga- 
tion of  all  his  opponents.  The  larger  part  of 
Israel  was  placed  under  Assyrian  governors. 
The  king  Pekah  was  killed  and  the  Israelite 
Hoshea  was  appointed  in  his  stead  over  what 
remained  of  the  kingdom,  probably  as  a  reward 
for  his  treachery.  Damascus,  parts  of  Philistia 
and  Arabia  were  all  incorporated  into  the 
Assyrian  empire.  The  results  of  the  war  were 
the  virtual  extinction  of  Israel,  while  Judah  had 
only  preserved  its  nominal  independence  by  its 
refusal  to  join  the  coalition. 

During  the  reign  of  Hoshea  of  Samaria  a 
change  of  dynasty  had  occurred  in  Egypt  and 
the  new  pharaoh  again  held  out  promises  to 
him  if  he  would  rebel  against  Assyria.  Shal- 
maneser  IV.  successor  of  Tiglath-pileser  seemed 
to  be  apprised  of  this  and  at  once  invaded 
Samaria,  defeated  the  army  and  made  Hoshea 
a   prisoner.     The   city   of   Samaria   was   too 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  103 

strong  to  be  taken  by  assault  and  was  besieged 
for  three  years  before  it  surrendered  in  722 
B.  C.  Shalmaneser  died  before  this  was  ac- 
complished and  his  successor  Sargon  continued 
his  policy  with  the  same  vigor  and  unrelenting 
severity.  We  read  in  cuneiform  inscriptions 
that  27,290  inhabitants  were  sent  into  captivity, 
mostly  into  the  province  of  Mesopotamia. 
These  captives  consisted  chiefly  of  the  wealthy 
ruling  classes  and  the  military  and  priestly 
leaders.  Here  they  were  surrounded  by  a  peo- 
ple of  Aramean  stock,  closely  related  to  them 
in  speech  and  habit  and  no  doubt  were  soon 
completely  amalgamated  with  them.  Later  on 
another  colony  was  planted  among  the  Medes. 
All  that  has  been  written  about  the  ten  lost 
tribes  is  utterly  meaningless  for  there  were  no 
lost  tribes.  The  great  bulk  of  the  .Israelites 
remained  in  their  country.  In  the  northern 
part  which  was  afterwards  called  Galilee,  the 
population  had  offered  little  resistance  to  the 
Assyrian  rule  and  consequently  they  were  not 
disturbed  and  none  were  transported.  In  Sa- 
maria on  the  other  hand  the  struggle  was  bitter 
and  stubborn  and  the  leading  families  were 


104  The  Old  Testament: 

carried  off.  These  gaps  in  the  population  were 
filled  by  captives  of  all  kinds  of  people  that  were 
brought  from  different  parts  of  the  empire.  In 
course  of  time  they  became  merged  and  while 
many  gods  were  worshiped  the  cult  of  Jehovah 
predominated.  After  the  exile  this  heterogene- 
ous mixture  of  people  did  not  readily  accept 
the  new  laws  brought  by  the  returning  Jews 
from  Babylon  and  relations  were  often  strained. 
The  population  of  Galilee,  however  being  more 
homogeneous,  had  never  deserted  the  Jehovah 
cult  and  affiliated  with  the  returned  exiles  more 
easily. 


IV. 


THE  KINGDOM  OF  JUDAH  TO  THE  DES- 
TRUCTION OF  JERUSALEM. 

TuENiNG  now  to  the  kingdom  of  Judah  we 
last  spoke  of  the  accession  of  Uzziah  in  779  B. 
C.  He  was  a  youth  of  sixteen,  but  possessed 
of  great  energy  and  marked  ability,  so  that  his 
reign  was  probably  the  most  successful  since 
the  division  of  the  kingdom.  His  territory  was 
extended  in  every  direction,  securing  access  to 
the  sea,  promoting  and  stimulating  commerce 
and  bringing  about  a  period  of  exceptional  pros- 
perity. He  had  suffered  from  leprosy  for  a 
long  time  and  died  in  740  B.  C.  His  son  Jotham 
who  had  been  co-regent  with  his  father  on 
account  of  his  sickness  survived  him  by  only 
about  four  years. 

Ahaz,  who  followed,  had  to  face  the  coalition 
under  Israel  that  was  determined  to  compel 
him  to  join  them  in  opposition  to  Assyria. 
There  were  divided  opinions  in  the  city,  many 

106 


106  The  Old  Testament : 

favoring  support  of  the  allies.  Isaiah  the  great 
prophet,  was  a  young  man  when  these  di:ffer- 
ences  arose.  Quite  apart  from  his  religious 
mission  of  which  we  will  speak  presently,  he 
was  a  man  of  great  political  insight  and  fore- 
sight, well  informed  generally  and  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  conditions  at  court.  He  en- 
deavored to  persuade  the  king  to  keep  aloof 
from  all  alliances,  to  defy  the  coalition,  but  not 
to  appeal  to  Assyria.  He  foresaw  the  destruc- 
tion of  Israel,  but  did  not  wish  Judah  to  become 
an  abject  vassal  of  Assyria.  But  Ahaz  was 
cowardly  and  self-indulgent  and  sent  a  message 
to  Tiglath-pileser  at  Damascus  when  the  war 
had  virtually  obliterated  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 
After  the  division  of  the  Hebrew  state  into 
two  kingdoms,  Judah  had  fallen  behind  the 
larger  and  more  progressive  northern  state. 
Its  population  was  almost  entirely  agricultural 
and  it  retained  much  of  its  primitive  simplicity 
of  manners  and  customs.  But  after  the  last 
successful  and  prosperous  reigns  with  access  to 
the  sea  and  increased  commerce,  conditions  be- 
gan to  approximate  those  of  Israel.  The  picture 
of  social  and  economic  extravagance  and  decay 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  107 

drawn  by  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  Micah,  re- 
sembles the  descriptions  of  Israel  made  by  the 
northern  prophets  Amos  and  Hosea. 

The  appearance  of  the  prophetic  school,  its 
work  and  its  influences,  is  probably  the  most 
remarkable  and  most  important  event  in  the 
history  of  the  Hebrew  people  and  deserves 
special  consideration.  As  it  led  to  monotheism, 
the  Messianic  expectation,  the  formation  of  the 
Jewish  religion  and  ultimately  to  Christianity, 
it  has  a  potent  bearing  upon  our  present  civili- 
zation. 

The  bands  of  the  so-called  sons  of  the  proph- 
ets that  we  first  met  under  Samuel  and  Saul 
were  fanatics  that  were  found  around  shrines 
and  sanctuaries  and  harangued  the  people  in  be- 
half of  the  traditional  Jehovah  worship.  They 
were  also  soothsayers  that  foretold  all  sorts  of 
events,  somewhat  like  modern  fortune-tellers 
and  claimed  to  divulge  the  views  of  Jehovah. 
They  grew  in  numbers  and  formed  a  kind  of 
guild  that  was  not  respected.  At  the  time  of 
Elijah  they  prophesied  and  were  at  times  con- 
sulted by  kings,  but  in  such  cases  w^ere  mere 
sycophants  simply  wishing  to  gain  royal  favor. 


108  The  Old  Testament : 

Both  Elijah  and  Elisha  were  in  some  way 
affiliated  with  them,  but  were  men  of  an  entirely 
different  stamp,  being  imbued  with  seriousness 
of  purpose  and  displaying  a  conviction  and 
fervor  in  their  Jehovah  worship  that  was 
in  glaring  contrast  with  these  professional 
agitators. 

Within  about  a  century  after  Elijah  we  see 
the  great  men  arise  that  are  called  the  true 
prophets.  They  seem  to  have  appeared  sud- 
denly and  spontaneously,  no  intermediate  steps 
or  gradual  development  being  known.  This  is 
particularly  remarkable  as  their  views  and 
teaching  are  revolutionary.  It  was  not  their 
vocation  to  foretell  events  as  popularly  as- 
sumed, but  they  expressed  opinions  as  to  what 
would  happen  to  the  people,  based  upon  their 
knowledge  of  affairs  and  their  sound  judgment. 
In  these  they  were  often  correct,  at  other  times 
they  were  mistaken.  They  never  stooped  to 
petty  affairs,  but  often  foretold  in  the  form  of 
visions  what  would  befall  the  nation  if  it  per- 
sisted in  its  social,  moral  and  religious  in- 
iquities. These  were  the  greed  and  oppression 
of  the  poor,  the  injustice  of  the  mighty  and  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  109 

reversion  to  worship  and  to  rites  that  were 
deemed  idolatrous.  Their  significance  is  to  be 
found  chiefly  in  that,  while  still  retaining  the 
ancient  notion  that  Jehovah  was  the  mere  tribal 
God  of  Israel  who  had  specially  favored  their 
nation,  they  ascribed  such  attributes  of  Right- 
eousness, Justice  and  Moral  Grandeur  to  him 
that  the  final  step  to  monotheism,  a  belief  in  a 
god  that  is  the  creator  of  the  whole  universe, 
was  inevitable. 

When  we  examine  these  writings  in  detail 
however  we  find  great  difficulties  in  determin- 
ing the  authors  and  the  dates  of  the  different 
parts.  The  Book  of  Isaiah  as  it  has  come  down 
to  us,  criticism  shows  not  to  be  the  work  of 
one  man  but  really  a  collection  of  writings  of 
different  authors,  or  reports  of  them,  extend- 
ing over  many  centuries.  At  first  sight  this 
seems  very  strange  but  it  becomes  quite  clear 
on  closer  inspection  of  the  circumstances.  The 
prophets  delivered  their  orations  or  sermons  to 
the  people  and  no  doubt  repeated  them  with 
variations  at  different  times.  For  these  they 
may  have  made  notes  that  were  preserved  or 
their  followers  and  admirers  wrote  them  down 


110  The  Old  Testament: 

from  memory.  These  versions  no  doubt  differed 
and  through  repeated  copying  underwent  many 
changes.  But  that  is  the  smallest  part  of  the 
difficulty.  It  was  the  universal  custom  of  the 
time  when  literary  activity  was  restricted,  for 
any  person  who  wished  to  gain  the  attention 
of  contemporaries  to  write  under  the  name  of 
some  recognized  authority.  But  besides  this 
practice,  during  the  exile  and  the  centuries  fol- 
lowing priests,  scribes  and  prophets  combined 
and  intentionally  rewrote  and  edited  most  of 
the  Old  Testament  literature  with  the  object  of 
inculcating  religious  views  that  were  dear  to 
them.  This  need  not  be  looked  upon  as  neces- 
sarily pious  fraud,  but  rather  that  they  had 
lost  all  historical  connection  and  imagined  that 
the  beliefs  they  then  held  must  have  prevailed 
at  all  times  in  Israel. 

In  Isaiah  modern  critics  discover  at  least 
three  well  distinguishable  strata,  besides  many 
smaller  interpolations  and  additions.  They  are 
now  known  as  the  original  Isaiah,  Deutero- 
Isaiah,  (second)  and  Trito-Isaiah,  (third). 
Deutero-Isaiah  is  assumed  to  have  been  written 
in  the  sixth  century  B.  C.  in  Babylonia,  and  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  Ill 

third  probably  in  the  course  of  several  follow- 
ing centuries,  the  work  having  received  its 
final  present  shape  at  a  very  late  date.  To  show 
in  detail  how  these  results  of  criticism  have  been 
attained  is  of  course  impossible  in  a  short  out- 
line, while  in  their  substance  they  are  very  gen- 
erally accepted. 

The  message  of  Isaiah  is  similar  to  that  of 
Amos  and  Hosea.  He  says,  *'  To  what  purpose 
is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me!  ^^ 
saith  the  Lord :  '  ^  I  am  full  of  burnt  offerings  of 
rams,  and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts ;  and  I  delight  not 
in  the  blood  of  bullocks  or  of  lambs,  or  of  he- 
goats.  Wash  you,  make  you  clean ;  put  away  the 
evil  of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes ;  cease 
to  do  evil: — relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the 
fatherless,  plead  for  the  widow. — The  princes 
are  rebellious  and  companions  of  thieves; 
everyone  loveth  gifts,  and  follows  after  re- 
ward: and  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  latter 
days  that  the  mountain  of  the  Lord^s  house 
shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains,— the  Lord  of  Hosts,  which  dwelleth  in 
Mount  Zion — the  land  is  also  full  of  idols ;  they 


112  The  Old  Testament: 

worship  the  work  of  their  own  hands,  that 
which  their  own  fingers  have  made/' 

Now  the  idols  mentioned  here  were  not  im- 
ages of  foreign  gods  but  talismans,  amulets, 
family  idols  and  various  representations  of 
Jehovah  that  had  been  worshiped  at  all  times, 
but  were  now  repugnant  to  the  prophet's  ele- 
vated views.  Still  it  will  be  seen  he  held  to  the 
conception  that  Jehovah  dwelt  in  the  temple. 
Formerly  he  had  been  present  at  all  shrines  and 
sanctuaries  in  Palestine,  but  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  northern  kingdom  his  permanent 
abode  was  in  Jerusalem. 

Isaiah  also  indulges  in  prophecies  that 
Jehovah  would  punish  his  guilty  people,  that 
Assyria  had  been  chosen  as  the  tool  to  execute 
his  wrath  and  that  after  the  chastisement  the 
purified  remnant  could  look  forward  to  a 
glorious  future. 

Micha,  a  contemporary  of  Isaiah,  lived  in 
Judah  and  preached  in  a  similar  vein. 

The  chief  weakness  of  the  criticism  brought 
forward  by  all  the  four  prophets  of  which  we 
have  spoken  lies  in  their  position  towards  re- 
ligion.    They  point  out  the  grossnesa  of  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  113 

prevailing  cult  and  exalt  moral  actions  above 
mere  ceremonial,  bnt  they  do  not  indicate  of 
what  the  true  worship  should  consist.  Moral 
ideas  cannot  take  the  place  of  sacrifice  and 
ceremonial  among  a  people  in  the  stage  of  de- 
velopment of  the  Hebrews  at  that  time.  And  in 
this  connection  it  must  occur  to  the  attentive 
reader  that  there  is  no  allusion  whatsoever  to 
any  standard,  to  any  revelation,  nor  to  the  great 
leader  and  prophet  Moses  or  to  any  Mosaic 
laws.  This  is  incontrovertible  proof  that  at  this 
time  such  belief  did  not  as  yet  exist.  The 
prophets  could  never  be  popular,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  often  aroused  people  and  rulers  to 
anger.  Their  influence  w^as  not  immediate,  but 
still  it  produced  an  undercurrent  of  thought 
that  prevailed  ultimately. 

Isaiah's  activity  extended  over  52  years, 
from  about  740  to  688  B.  C.  He  was  a  man  of 
such  commanding  ability  and  of  such  high  social 
standing  that  in  great  political  crises  his  advice 
could  not  be  easily  ignored.  He  tried  to  dis- 
suade the  king  Ahaz  from  appealing  to  the 
Assyrians,  but  was  not  successful.  Judah  then 
became  a  vassal.     But  the  fall  of  Samaria  in 


114  The  Old  Testament: 

722  B.  C.  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
people. 

Ahaz  died  in  720  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son  Hezekiah.  During  his  reign  the  oppressive 
yoke  of  Assyria  led  the  petty  states  of  Palestine 
to  conspire  with  neighboring  states  to  free 
themselves.  In  Judah  a  party  was  formed  to 
seek  the  support  of  Egypt.  Isaiah,  who  had 
opposed  the  appeal  to  Assyria  in  734  now 
strenuously  argued  against  any  alliance  and 
counselled  quiet  and  abstention  from  all  dem- 
onstration. But  he  was  overruled  and  Judah 
joined  the  revolting  states. 

The  new  Assyrian  king,  SennacTierib,  moved 
with  great  celerity,  defeated  Phenicia,  then  the 
Philistines  and  finally  an  Egyptian  army  that 
had  come  to  their  aid.  He  occupied  46  towns 
in  Judah  and  at  last  summoned  Jerusalem  to 
surrender.  In  this  desperate  situation  Isaiah 
counselled  confidence  in  Jehovah  who  wished  to 
punish  his  people  but  would  never  allow  the 
Assyrians  to  capture  the  city  of  his  abode  and 
advised  to  hold  out.  At  this  juncture,  the 
Egyptian  king,  Tirhakah,  advanced  and  Sen- 
nacherib marched   to   meet  him,   but  on  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  115 

borders  of  Egypt  he  suddenly  turned  back  and 
withdrew  altogether.  The  causes  for  this  unex- 
pected move  are  not  definitely  known,  but  are 
supposed  to  be  due  to  the  outbreak  of  the 
plague.  Naturally  this  result  was  construed  as 
vindicating  the  power  of  Jehovah  and  Isaiah 
and  the  prophetic  party  rose  in  estimation  and 
influence.  This  was  in  701  B.  C.  The  effect 
upon  Hezekiah  was  that  he  instituted  a  few  re- 
forms by  destroying  some  of  the  images  and 
prohibiting  certain  features  of  the  cult.  How- 
ever, with  the  accession  of  his  son  Manasseh  in 
685  B.  C.  a  great  religious  reaction  set  in. 

The  zeal  of  the  prophetic  party  and  the  in- 
fluence of  Isaiah  had  carried  the  reforms  under 
Hezekiah.  The  chief  argument  had  been  the 
deliverance  by  Jehovah  of  Jerusalem  in  701, 
which  had  been  foretold  by  Isaiah.  But  as  the 
tyranny  of  Assyria  continued  and  a  heavy  trib- 
ute was  steadily  exacted,  the  force  of  such 
reasoning  wore  off.  With  the  accession  of  the 
new  king,  Manasseh,  the  inevitable  reaction  be- 
gan. The  prophetic  view  of  Jehovah  was  too 
elevated  for  popular  appreciation,  the  desire  to 
return  to  old  superstitions  and  beliefs  again  as- 


116  The  Old  Testament: 

serted  itself  and  was  strengthened  by  the  influx 
of  new  ideas  and  forms  of  worship  derived  from 
Assyria.  It  was  seen  that  while  the  city  had 
been  saved,  Jehovah  was  not  strong  enough  to 
free  them  from  Assyrian  rule  and  that  the  As- 
syrian gods  who  helped  their  people  to  conquer 
in  every  direction  must  be  far  more  powerful. 
Not  only  were  the  reformatory  measures  of 
Hezekiah  revoked,  but  the  worship  of  foreign 
gods  was  introduced  into  the  temple.  According 
to  the  Book  of  Kings  even  human  sacrifices  were 
brought  to  Moloch  in  the  valley  of  Hinnom  south 
of  Jerusalem.  The  Babylonian  star  worship 
also  found  many  adherents  and  altars  were 
erected  to  the  sun  and  moon.  Under  such  con- 
ditions the  prophetic  party  was  not  only  help- 
less but  was  persecuted  and  the  writer  of  the 
Book  of  Kings  charges  Manasseh  with  having 
*^  shed  innocent  blood  very  much.'' 

But  during  his  long  reign  of  43  years,  taken 
all  in  all,  the  people  seem  to  have  been  prosper- 
ous and  quiet.  Since  the  prophets  were  not 
allowed  to  speak,  our  records  of  the  period  are 
very  meager. 

In  his  foreign  policy  Manasseh  was  rather 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  117 

fortunate.  He  saw  it  was  useless  to  oppose 
Assyria  and  he  submitted  in  good  faith.  As- 
syrian power  continued  to  grow  and  not  only 
Sidon  and  Tyre,  but  even  Egypt  succumbed, 
Thebes  having  been  captured  in  657.  During 
such  a  state  of  affairs  there  could  be  no 
Egyptian  party  in  Judah. 

Manasseh  died  in  642  B.  C.  and  his  son  Amon 
only  ruled  two  years  when  he  was  slain  by  a 
conspiracy  of  his  nobles.  The  populace  was 
enraged  at  this  and  killed  the  guilty  parties. 
Amon's  son  Josiah,  a  child  eight  years  old, 
ascended  the  throne  about  639  B.  C. 

While  the  prophetic  party  could  not  assert  it- 
self publicly  it  must  have  worked  secretly  and 
probably  at  this  period  began  to  cooperate  with 
the  priesthood.  The  clergy  was  always  power- 
ful in  Judah,  their  position  in  the  temple  at 
Jerusalem  and  their  relations  with  the  mon- 
archy giving  them  a  standing  they  never  at- 
tained in  the  northern  kingdom.  At  length  the 
prophetic  teachings  must  have  impressed  the 
more  intelligent  and  more  patriotic  among  them 
and  the  evident  danger  that  the  national 
Jehovah  worship  might  be  entirely  submerged, 


118  The  Old  Testament: 

inclined  them  to  joint  action  with  the  reform 
party.  By  627  B.  C.  the  prophets  again  began 
to  appear  in  public  and  to  urge  their  cause. 
Among  these  Zephaniah  must  be  mentioned 
and  above  all  Jeremiah,  a  man  of  the  highest 
character  who  attained  a  commanding  in- 
fluence. The  high-priest  Hilkiah  was  his 
friend  and  must  have  supported  the  movement 
in  secret  at  least. 

At  length  these  preparations  culminated  in 
an  act  of  the  utmost  significance.  In  621  the 
high-priest  Hilkiah  claimed  to  have  found  the 
Book  of  the  Law  in  the  Temple  and  it  was 
brought  to  the  king  by  his  messenger.  After 
examining  it  and  having  it  verified  by  a  proph- 
etess as  being  really  inspired  by  Jehovah,  he 
called  all  the  people  together  in  the  temple  and 
read  it  to  them.  The  King  and  all  the  people 
then  made  a  covenant  that  they  would  keep 
the  commandments  prescribed  therein. 

This  book,  all  critics  are  agreed,  must  have 
consisted  of  the  chapters  XII  to  XXVI  of  the 
fifth  book  of  Moses,  now  known  as  Deuter- 
onomy. The  main  stress  is  laid  upon  the  de- 
struction of  all  shrines,  sanctuaries  and  high 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  119 

places  outside  of  Jerusalem  and  the  prohibi- 
tion of  all  idolatrous  practices,  Jehovah  being 
the  only  God  that  may  be  worshiped  and  all 
sacrifices  are  restricted  to  the  temple  at  Jerus- 
alem. To  make  Israel  a  holy  people  before  the 
Lord,  prescriptions  about  clean  and  unclean 
are  given.  There  are  also  many  most  humane 
regulations,  like  the  freeing  of  all  slaves  at  the 
end  of  every  six  years,  and  charitable  provi- 
sions for  the  poor.  While  the  main  purpose  is 
the  prevention  of  idolatrous  practices  and  the 
concentration  of  all  worship  in  the  temple,  a 
complete  code  of  religious  laws  is  also  pre- 
scribed. With  these  innovations  are  embodied 
provisions  of  old  customs  and  usages  that  had 
been  preserved  orally  as  coming  from  the  old 
leader  and  law-giver  Moses.  The  spirit  animat- 
ing the  document,  however,  is  that  of  the  proph- 
ets, but  modified  by  the  advice  of  the  priest- 
hood to  prescribe  a  fixed  religious  code,  as  the 
surest  method  to  keep  the  Jehovah  worship 
intact  and  separate  from  all  possible  contamina- 
tion. 

The  king,  Josiah,  immediately  proceeded  to 
carry  out  the  necessary  measures  with  great 


120  The  Old  Testament : 

vigor.  He  destroyed  all  the  sanctuaries  and 
shrines  outside  of  Jerusalem  and  invited  the 
priests  to  accept  subordinate  positions  at  the 
temple.  He  also  extirpated  and  prohibited  all 
idolatrous  rites  and  ceremonies. 

The  effect  of  these  changes  upon  the  habits 
and  the  social  life  of  the  people  outside  of 
Jerusalem  was  very  great.  Sacrifices  and  re- 
ligious rites  had  formed  a  part  of  their  daily 
life.  No  animal  was  killed  and  used  for  food 
before  it  was  sacrificed  and  a  part  offered  to 
the  Deity.  No  priest  was  required,  anybody 
could  officiate  in  that  capacity.  Every  such 
occasion  became  a  kind  of  family  festival  to 
which  friends  were  often  invited.  This  was  for- 
bidden now  and  for  religious  rites  only  prayers, 
either  individually  or  in  synagogues,  were  sub- 
stituted. The  command  that  every  person 
should  go  to  Jerusalem  for  the  three  great 
festivals  and  sacrifice  at  the  temple  could  apply 
to  a  limited  number  only.  The  change  was  more 
than  a  reform,  it  was  a  revolution.  It  led  in- 
evitably to  monotheism  and  to  the  formation 
of  a  church  with  fixed  written  laws  and  com- 
mands.   Jeremiah  and  the  prophets  preached 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  121 

and  agitated  for  the  new  measures  and  out- 
wardly at  least  they  seemed  to  have  been 
enforced. 

The  introduction  of  these  innovations  had 
been  helped  by  the  changed  international  situa- 
tion. Wild  hordes  of  the  Scythians  from 
the  Black  Sea  overran  western  Asia.  They 
menaced  the  Medes  and  the  Assyrians.  This 
danger  together  with  other  difficulties  pre- 
vented the  Assyrians  from  enforcing  their 
rigid  rule  in  Judah.  Josiah  probably  did  not 
pay  a  tribute  and  was  enabled  to  extend  his 
power  into  a  considerable  part  of  the  former 
kingdom  of  Israel.  It  was  a  period  of  pros- 
perity and  of  a  wide  intellectual  activity  and 
the  faith  in  Jehovah  was  thereby  considerably 
enhanced. 

In  Assyria  a  change  of  dynasty  had  occurred. 
The  Chaldean  Nabopolassar  had  ascended  the 
throne  in  625  B.  C.  and  had  become  successor  to 
the  Assyrian  empire.  While  the  new  monarch 
was  surrounded  by  many  difficulties,  Necho,  the 
pharaoh  of  Egypt,  thought  the  time  opportune 
to  attack  him,  to  wrest  some  of  his  territory 
from  him.     He  marched   along  the   Mediter- 


122  The  Old  Testament : 

ranean  towards  Syria.  While  he  did  not  enter 
Judah  he  had  to  cross  parts  of  Israel  which 
were  now  controlled  by  Josiah  and  the  latter  re- 
fused to  let  him  pass.  A  battle  was  fought  at 
Megiddo  where  the  Judean  army  was  utterly 
routed  and  Josiah  himself  was  slain  in  608  B.  C. 
What  prompted  Josiah  to  attempt  such  a  fool- 
hardy step  was  probably  the  fear,  that  barely 
released  from  the  Assyrian  yoke  he  might  fall 
under  Egyptian  control  and  also  overconfidence 
created  by  the  conviction  that  Jehovah  would 
not  desert  his  people,  now  that  they  had  com- 
plied with  his  commands.  But  the  death  of 
Josiah  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  reform  party. 
Necho  appointed  the  younger  son  of  Josiah, 
Eliakin,  as  king,  named  him  Jehoiakim  and 
made  him  his  vassal.  He  proved  a  pleasure- 
loving,  ostentatious  despot,  who  tried  to  imitate 
the  larger  luxurious  courts  of  the  orient.  Under 
him  the  reaction  that  had  been  preparing  at- 
tained full  sway.  The  people  were  not  ripe  for 
such  radical  changes  as  had  been  forced  upon 
them  and  the  defeat  by  Necho  proved  to  them 
that  Jehovah  was  not  as  powerful  as  the 
prophetic  party  had  claimed.    All  the  old  forms 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  123 

of  idolatry  were  resumed,  at  least  in  private. 
On  the  other  hand  most  of  the  reform  party  per- 
sisted with  remarkable  shortsightedness  in  their 
narrow  view.  They  thought  that  now  since  the 
service  at  the  temple  was  conducted  according 
to  the  commands  of  Jehovah,  he  would  not  allow 
his  people  to  be  destroyed,  and  they  also 
entirely  misunderstood  the  international  situa- 
tion. Only  Jeremiah  supported  by  some  minor 
prophets,  and  with  a  limited  following,  had  the 
courage  and  the  judgment  to  warn  against  the 
prevailing  folly. 

Within  four  years  the  situation  changed. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  son  of  the  Chaldean  king, 
Nabopolassar,  met  Necho  in  battle  at  Carchem- 
ish  and  defeated  him  in  604  B.  C.  His 
father's  death  compelled  him  to  return  to 
Babylon  and  he  did  not  enter  Syria  until  about 
600  B.  C.  During  this  interval,  Jeremiah  fore- 
seeing the  inevitable  doom  of  his  people,  boldly 
told  them  that  they  as  well  as  the  other  neigh- 
boring nations  would  feel  the  chastisement  of 
Jehovah.  He  warned  them  that  their  con- 
fidence, based  upon  the  idea  that  Jehovah  would 
not  permit  his  temple  and  his  city  to  be  de- 


124  The  Old  Testament: 

stroyed,  was  an  illusion.  His  open  and  bold 
counsel  probably  contributed  to  accepting 
Chaldean  overlordship  for  a  time  at  least. 
But  Jeremiah  was  most  unpopular  for  always 
prophesying  disaster  and  constantly  attacking 
idolatrous  practices  and  was  persecuted  and  for 
a  time  had  to  hide  to  escape  death.  At  length 
in  597  Jehoiakim  took  the  final  step  of  revolt 
and  the  smaller  adjoining  states  instead  of  as- 
sisting him,  began  to  invade  his  territory.  At 
this  juncture  Jehoiakim  died  and  his  eighteen 
year  old  son  succeeded  him  under  the  name  of 
Jehoiakim.  But  his  reign  lasted  only  a  very 
short  time  for  the  king  and  the  court  sur- 
rendered at  once  to  the  Chaldeans  when  they 
proceeded  to  invest  the  city  in  597  B.  C. 

Nebuchadnezzar  adhered  to  the  policy  of  the 
Assyrians  and  deported  the  king  with  seven 
thousand  trained  warriors,  one  thousand  ar- 
tisans and  probably  two  thousand  of  the  priest- 
hood, nobility  and  other  educated  classes,  so 
that  including  women,  children  and  slaves  the 
number  may  have  reached  30,000  to  40,000.  As 
they  were  given  time  to  dispose  of  their  lands 
and  other  property  and  to  prepare  for  the  re- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  125 

moval,  the  act  was  not  specially  harsh,  consider- 
ing the  custom  of  the  period. 

As  the  ablest  and  best  citizens  had  been  re- 
moved, those  that  remained,  necessarily  con- 
sisted largely  of  the  least  efficient,  the  most 
ignorant  and  more  depraved  classes.  At  first 
they  considered  themselves  as  being  better  than 
the  exiles,  because  these  had  been  selected  for 
punishment  by  Jehovah.  It  was  not  an  easy 
task  to  keep  the  unruly  mass  in  order.  Nebu- 
chadnezzar appointed  a  younger  son  of  Josiah 
as  king  and  named  him  Zedekiah.  Unfortu- 
nately he  had  neither  the  character  nor  the 
ability  to  perform  such  a  difficult  duty  prop- 
erly. Instead  of  being  sobered  by  disaster 
the  people  became  more  turbulent,  the  strife 
of  the  parties  increased  and  the  reactionaries 
carried  everything  before  them.  Many  lost 
faith  in  Jehovah  and  returned  to  the  old 
superstitions.  They  were  encouraged  by  the 
false  prophets  who  foretold  that  within  two 
years  Jehovah  would  destroy  the  power  of 
Babylon  and  restore  their  independence.  Their 
arguments    were    as    plausible    as    those    of 


126  The  Old  Testament: 

Jeremiali  and  his  school,  and  certainly  more 
cheering. 

Finally  in  588  B.  C.  the  vassal  kings  of  Moab 
and  Ammon  in  Palestine  and  the  king  of  Tyre 
urged  the  king  Zedekiah  to  join  them  in  a  league 
with  Egypt  to  overthrow  the  Chaldean  rule. 
Thereupon  Judah  refused  to  pay  tribute  and 
Nebuchadnezzar  acting  promptly,  appeared  be- 
fore the  gates  of  Jerusalem  in  the  early  part  of 
587  B.  C.  Jeremiah  again  urged  submission  as 
the  only  hope  of  escape,  but  his  advice  was  not 
heeded. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  when  the  Chaldean 
armies  suddenly  withdrew  to  meet  the  pharaoh 
Hophra  in  battle,  but  Nebuchadnezzar  utterly 
defeated  the  Egyptian  army.  He  returned  to  the 
investment  of  the  city,  which  did  not  surrender 
for  about  a  year  and  a  half.  The  famine,  priva- 
tions and  horrors  that  the  besieged  suffered  are 
almost  indescribable.  The  Chaldeans  finally 
entered  in  July  586  B.  C.  The  king  fled  but  was 
captured,  his  sons  were  killed  and  he  himself 
blinded.  Many  nobles,  leading  priests,  military 
leaders  and  others  were  also  slain.  The  city  was 
plundered,    the    walls    and    fortifications    de- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  127 

stroyed,  and  the  houses  burned.  Most  of  the 
remaining  inhabitants  were  deported  to  Baby- 
lonia and  their  number  is  estimated  at  12,000  to 
15,000. 

But  Nebuchadnezzar  did  not  intend  to  leave 
the  country  a  waste,  so  he  allowed  a  number 
of  shepherds  and  husbandmen  to  remain  with 
some  nobles  whom  he  could  trust,  and  appointed 
Gedaliah,  a  Judean,  as  governor.  He  was 
located  at  Mizpah,  a  town  a  few  miles  north  of 
Jerusalem.  Many  fugitives  returned  and  re- 
sumed their  agricultural  pursuits.  But  these 
conditions  did  not  last  long,  for  after  two 
months  Gedaliah  was  assassinated  and  the  peo- 
ple that  remained  fled  in  fear  of  Chaldean  ven- 
geance. The  prophet,  Jeremiah,  urged  them  to 
remain,  but  finally  joined  them.  They  migrated 
to  Egypt  where  they  were  given  shelter,  be- 
cause they  were  the  enemies  of  the  Chaldeans. 
Besides  going  to  Egypt  the  Judeans  scattered  in 
many  directions,  although  some  gradually  ven- 
tured to  return  to  Palestine.  The  deportation 
had  been  confined  principally  to  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  and  its  vicinity,  while  the  country 
districts  were  not  so  seriously  affected. 


128  The  Old  Testament: 

In  this  dark  picture  of  the  destruction  of  a 
state  and  the  annihilation  or  dispersion  of  so 
many  of  its  citizens,  the  figure  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  stands  out  in  glowing  colors  and  in 
heroic  proportions.  For  forty  years,  from  626 
to  586  B.  C,  he  battled  for  principles  that  were 
dear  to  him,  at  the  risk  of  his  life  and  in  spite 
of  the  animosity  and  often  the  contempt  of  his 
fellow-citizens.  He  was  descended  from  an  old 
priestly  family  and  felt  an  irresistible  call  to 
preach  and  to  agitate  for  his  conception  of 
Jehovah. 

The  difficulty  of  determining  what  part  of 
the  writings  appearing  under  Jeremiah's  name 
are  truly  his  own,  is  even  greater  than  in  the 
case  of  Isaiah.  It  is  however  safe  to  assume 
that  his  religious  standpoint  is  an  advance  over 
that  of  Isaiah.  His  conception  of  Jehovah, 
while  still  looking  upon  him  as  the  special 
patron  of  his  chosen  people,  tends  in  the  direc- 
tion of  a  Universal  God.  He  tells  the  people 
that  the  fact  that  Jehovah  is  supposed  to  dwell 
in  the  temple  is  no  safeguard  that  in  his 
chastisement  he  will  not  destroy  the  city  and 
the  temple,  in  fact  he  felt  certain  that  he  would. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  129 

He  preaches  against  idolatry  and  heathen 
practices,  but  emphasizes  that  a  moral  life  is 
commanded  by  Jehovah.  He  is  convinced  that 
the  destruction  of  the  state  and  of  his  people  is 
inevitable,  and  can  think  of  no  way  to  avert  it, 
except  by  the  moral  regeneration  of  the  com- 
munity. He  prophecies  evil  because  he  cannot 
help  it,  but  like  the  prophets  that  preceded  him, 
he  sees  in  his  visions  that  after  the  chastise- 
ment Jehovah  will  institute  a  golden  age  in 
Palestine,  in  which  his  regenerate  people  will 
participate.  But  here  too  he  shows  an  advance 
by  saying,  '*  In  those  days  every  man  shall  die 
for  his  own  iniquity,''  that  is  there  shall  be 
personal  responsibility  and  that  the  nation  will 
not  be  judged  as  a  whole  only.  He  was  truly  a 
man  of  rare  mental  and  moral  fibre. 

In  the  career  of  Jeremiah  as  well  as  that  of 
Isaiah  we  have  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
varied  activities  and  the  inevitable  vicissitudes 
that  accompanied  the  whole  school  of  the  proph- 
ets. They  could  not  confine  their  efforts  to 
religious,  moral  and  social  questions  only,  but 
were  compelled  also  to  take  part  in  the  political 
issues  of  the  time.     In  fact  the  two  sets  of 


I30  The  Old  Testament: 

problems  were  closely  connected  and  reacted 
upon  each  other.  The  kings  when  powerful  and 
successful  often  sought  foreign  alliances  and 
close  trade  relations  with  adjoining  states. 
These  with  their  beneficent  effects  of  increased 
wealth  and  enlarging  views  brought  with  them 
the  baneful  consequences  of  contact  with  pagan 
cults  and  rites  that  were  dangerous  to  the 
simpler  and  purer  forms  of  primitive  Hebrew 
worship.  At  the  time  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  the 
danger  seemed  so  imminent  that  the  latter  did 
not  shrink  from  a  bloody  revolution  and  the  ex- 
termination of  the  whole  dynasty  to  avert  the 
threatened  submergence  of  the  traditional 
Hebrew  faith. 

The  great  prophets  of  the  following  centuries 
had  nobler  ideals  and  occupied  a  plane  of  intel- 
ligence which  gave  them  a  remarkably  states- 
menlike  insight  into  the  political  problems  of 
their  times.  They  opposed  alliances  with  either 
of  the  two  great  contending  powers  of  Assyria 
and  Egypt,  because  they  knew  that  defeat  meant 
not  only  destruction  of  their  political,  but  what 
was  even  dearer  to  them,  of  their  religious  life. 
They  counselled  neutrality  and  partial  submis- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  131 

sion  by  paying  tribute  when  inevitable,  in  pref- 
erence to  the  risk  of  utter  annihilation.  Such  a 
policy  was  too  far  sighted  and  unselfish  to  suit 
rulers  and  could  not  be  popular  with  the  masses 
and  hence  these  great  men,  particularly  Jere- 
miah, while  they  foresaw  the  impending  fate 
could  not  avert  it.  They  were  sustained  by  the 
conviction  of  having  performed  their  duty  re- 
gardless of  sacrifice  and  by  the  firm  faith  that 
after  deserved  punishment,  Jehovah  would  in- 
itiate an  era  of  ideal  moral,  religious  and  social 
conditions  for  his  chastened  people — a  consum- 
mation of  the  vision  of  a  Golden  Age. 


V. 

EXILE  AND  RETURN. 

With  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the 
Hebrew  people  ceases  to  exist  and  the  history  of 
the  Jews  and  the  Jewish  religion  begins.  Had 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  fallen  at  the  time  of  the 
capture  of  Samaria  in  722  B.  C.  instead  of  586 
B.C.,  it  seems  highly  probable  that  the  Hebrews 
of  the  two  kingdoms,  scattered  among  nations 
so  closely  related  to  them  in  race,  language  and 
habits,  would  have  readily  accepted  their  re- 
ligious worship,  merged  with  them  and  have 
totally  lost  their  identity.  But  the  course  of 
development  in  Judah  during  the  last  century 
and  a  half  made  such  an  eventuality  impossible. 
During  this  period  the  teaching  of  the  prophets 
and  the  active  cooperation  of  the  priesthood 
brought  about  the  promulgation  of  Deuter- 
onomy and  the  reforms  instituted  by  Josiah, 
which  were  in  conformity  with  these  views.  The 
important  step  in  advance  of  monolatry  that  had 

132 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  133 

been  taken,  in  combination  with  a  fixed  system 
of  laws  and  ceremonial,  could  never  be  entirely 
effaced  and  necessarily  had  to  lead  to  a 
peculiar  monotheistic  conception  imbedded  in 
rigid  forms  of  worship.  To  this  tendency  the 
exile  did  not  prove  a  hindrance,  but  rather  a 
stimulating  factor  that  accelerated  the  move- 
ment. The  best  educated  and  most  capable 
citizens  were  collected  here  and  free  from  the 
daily  cares  of  political  problems  and  dangers, 
they  could  concentrate  their  thoughts  and 
efforts  upon  the  all-absorbing  religious  ques- 
tions. Removed  from  their  native  soil  and  with 
it  from  the  old  way  of  worship  of  their  national 
god,  new  forms  had  to  be  evolved  and  the 
changed  conditions  naturally  tended  to  broaden 
their  views. 

Nor  does  the  harsh  word  exile  fairly  describe 
their  state.  For  Nebuchadnezzar  was  not  a 
mere  despot,  but  a  man  mth  aims  of  far-seeing 
statesmanship.  The  deported  were  in  fact  more 
of  involuntary  colonists,  transplanted  to  the 
region  of  the  navigable  canal  Chebar  (Kabaru), 
not  far  from  Nippur.  It  was  a  very  fruitful 
section  lying  between  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris, 


134  The  Old  Testament: 

south  of  the  city  of  Babylon.  They  were  placed 
there  as  agriculturists  and  soil  and  climate  were 
far  superior  to  what  they  had  been  accustomed 
in  their  native  home.  They  seemed  to  have 
enjoyed  perfect  political  freedom  and  to  have 
continued  their  social  organization  pretty  much 
as  they  brought  it  from  Palestine.  The  Baby- 
lonians were  a  great  trading  people  and  prob- 
ably Nebuchadnezzar  wished  to  increase  the 
agricultural  products  of  the  land.  The  Jews  at 
first  looked  with  contempt  upon  commerce,  but 
probably  also  engaged  in  it  to  some  extent  at  a 
later  date.  At  any  rate  they  seem  to  have  been 
prosperous  and  many  of  them  attained  posi- 
tions of  respect  and  honor.  All  this  applies  to 
the  first  settlement,  while  those  deported  in 
586  B.  C.  were  sent  to  different  localities  and 
were  probably  treated  far  more  harshly. 

Among  the  first  colonists  in  597  B.  C.  there 
was  one  person  who  was  destined  to  play  a  most 
important  part  in  shaping  the  development  of 
the  Jewish  religion.  This  was  Ezekiel,  a  young 
man  belonging  to  aristrocratic  circles  and  a 
member  of  the  priestly  class.  In  592  B.  C.  he 
felt  the  call  to  preach  in  the  style  of  the  prophets 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  135 

and  until  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  in  586  B.  C.  there 
was  a  very  active  intercourse  between  the 
Babylonian  Jews  and  the  mother  country,  in 
which  he  participated.  After  the  destruction  of 
the  kingdom  of  Judah  the  exiles  were  in  a  very 
desperate  condition,  for  their  hope  of  return 
which  they  had  never  relinquished,  seemed  now 
destroyed  forever.  The  colony  was  as  much 
divided  in  sentiment  and  religious  observance 
as  the  individuals  had  been  at  home.  Many  had 
brought  their  talismans  and  family  idols  and 
having  lost  all  faith  in  Jehovah,  were  ready  to 
accept  any  form  of  idolatry  that  offered.  For 
twenty  years,  from  592  to  572  B.  C,  Ezekiel 
devoted  his  whole  energy  and  zeal  with  remark- 
able devotion  to  the  task  of  preserving  the  faith 
of  his  countrymen  in  Jehovah.  He  was  led  step 
by  step  to  evolve  ideas  and  to  suggest  religious 
forms  and  ceremonies  that  became  the  starting 
point  and  foundation  of  Judaism. 

There  were  a  number  of  theoretical  questions 
that  presented  themselves  for  solution  at  once. 
He  had  foreseen  like  Jeremiah  the  inevitable 
destruction  of  the  state,  the  city  of  Jerusalem 
and  the  temple,  and  felt  convinced  that  Jehovah 


136  The  Old  Testament: 

would  permit  these  calamities  as  a  proper 
chastisement  for  the  transgressions  of  his  peo- 
ple. But  now  the  questions  arose  where  was 
Jehovah  since  his  holy  abode  had  been  abolished 
and  how  is  he  to  be  worshiped.  Ezekiel  still 
held  the  view,  however  exalted  the  attributes 
ascribed  to  Jehovah,  that  he  was  a  national  God, 
who  lived  in  the  land  of  his  people  and  that  he 
could  only  be  worshiped  there  according  to  the 
prescribed  forms.  Where  could  he  be  now? 
Had  he  retired  for  the  present  to  *^  his  mount 
in  the  uppermost  parts  of  the  north  ' '  ? 

On  the  other  hand  Ezekiel  was  born  about  the 
time  of  the  promulgation  of  Deuteronomy  and 
had  been  educated  in  the  firm  conviction  that  the 
commands  contained  therein  were  ordained  by 
Jehovah  and  that  consequently  a  temple  could 
not  be  erected  nor  sacrifices  brought  in  Baby- 
lonia. But  what  was  to  be  substituted,  what  new 
forms  could  take  the  place  of  the  sacrifice  and 
the  temple  worship?  On  this  point  the  trained 
priest  asserted  himself.  He  with  the  rest  of  the 
Deuteronomic  school  believed  that  the  Book  of 
Deuteronomy  was  of  very  old  origin  and  that 
its  commands  had  been  literally  obeyed  in  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  137 

time  of  Solomon,  and  that  consequently  ever 
thereafter  the  rulers  and  the  people  that  had 
ignored  its  teachings  had  grievously  offended 
Jehovah  and  were  the  cause  of  their  present 
chastisement.  He  never  doubted  the  ultimate 
return  of  his  people  to  Jerusalem  and  in  his 
many  visions  he  intimated  how  the  future 
temple  was  to  be  built  and  what  the  functions  of 
the  priesthood  w^ould  be  and  outlined  a  form  of 
theocratic  rule  that  somew^hat  resembled  the 
system  introduced  at  a  later  date. 

As  priest  there  was  another  idea  that  dom- 
inated him  which  he  elaborated  and  that  was 
the  notion  of  holiness  and  clean  and  unclean.  In 
its  practical  applications  to  food  and  ceremonial 
he  enlarged  upon  the  prescriptions  in  Deuter- 
onomy, but  transferred  to  the  spiritual  sphere 
he  initiated  a  great  moral  progress.  For  he 
held  that  the  Jews  would  only  be  fitted  for  their 
return  to  Jerusalem  after  they  had  all  become 
a  holy  people,  especially  devoted  to  Jehovah. 
And  this  holiness  did  not  only  consist  in  the 
necessary  observance  of  ceremonial,  but  chiefly 
in  the  attainment  of  a  higher  moral  standard. 
In  this  view  lies  his  greatest  advance.    Hereto- 


138  The  Old  Testament: 

fore  Jehovali  was  always  assumed  to  judge  his 
people  as  a  whole  and  to  reward  or  punish 
them  as  a  nation.  Now  Ezekiel  proclaims  the 
moral  responsibility  of  the  individual.  He 
quotes  Jehovah  as  saying  to  him  that  the  prov- 
erb current  in  Israel  that  **  The  fathers  have 
eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  children's  teeth  are 
set  on  edge  ''  shall  no  longer  hold.  *'  All  souls 
are  mine;  as  the  soul  of  the  father,  so  also  the 
soul  of  the  son  is  mine :  the  soul  that  sinneth  it 
shall  die.  But  if  a  man  be  just,  and  do  that 
which  is  lawful  and  right — he  shall  surely  live, 
saith  the  Lord  God.*' 

The  insistence  upon  making  the  sabbath  a 
holy  day  and  the  strict  observance  of  rest  and 
devoting  it  to  prayer,  is  also  part  of  EzekiePs 
scheme  for  the  new  holiness.  The  day  always 
had  a  meaning  for  the  ancient  Hebrews,  but 
whether  it  may  be  traced  back  to  an  original 
moon  cult  or  was  accepted  from  the  Canaanites 
who  may  have  borrowed  it  from  Babylonia,  is  a 
debatable  proposition.  While  it  was  a  festival, 
there  were  periods  when  it  was  neglected  and 
almost  forgotten  and  the  prophets  upbraided 
the  people  for  this  transgression.     Of  course 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  139 

the  rigid  observance  of  the  many  petty  pre- 
scriptions that  were  ultimately  grafted  upon  it, 
was  only  attained  in  the  course  of  many  cen- 
turies. The  day  was  kept  by  the  Babylonians 
as  one  on  which  no  work  was  to  be  undertaken 
and  it  was  also  devoted  to  propitiatory  sacri- 
fices. These  surrounding  influences  also  no 
doubt  acted  upon  Ezekiel  and  it  fitted  into  his 
plan  to  make  it  a  day  of  prayer. 

A  large  part  of  his  difficult  task  was  now, 
since  the  wrath  of  Jehovah  had  been  accom- 
plished and  did  not  need  to  be  foretold  or 
threatened,  to  inspire  his  people  with  hope  and 
confidence  that  Jehovah  was  just  and  loving 
and  that  as  soon  as  they  were  purified  and 
hallowed  he  would  lead  them  back  to  Jerusalem. 
Ezekiel  had  many  visions  in  which  he  pictured 
this  Messianic  age  when  his  regenerate  country- 
men would  return  to  the  holy  city  and  enjoy 
peace  and  prosperity  and  Jehovah  would  live  in 
their  midst  and  they  would  be  the  model  for  all 
nations  to  imitate.  This  Messianic  expectation 
was  as  yet  quite  impersonal,  in  no  way  con- 
nected with  the  leadership  of  any  individual, 
although  the  reinstatement  of  the  dynasty  of 


140  The  Old  Testament: 

the  house  of  David  was  hoped  for,  but  every- 
thing was  to  be  under  the  direction  of  Jehovah 
himself,  a  pure  theocracy. 

In  one  of  these  ecstatic  prophesies  he  pictures 
a  scene  where  Jehovah  takes  him  to  a  valley  that 
is  full  of  dry  bones  and  commands  them  to 
assemble  and  form  bodies  of  flesh  and  blood  and 
he  instills  life  into  them.  And  then  Jehovah 
continues  **  These  bones  are  the  whole  house 
of  Israel — I  will  open  your  graves  and  cause 
you  to  come  up  out  of  your  graves.  Oh,  my 
people;  and  I  will  bring  you  into  the  land  of 
Israel. '*  Ezekiel  may  not  have  meant  this 
literally,  but  it  is  the  first  allusion  to  the  notion 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  which  at  a  much 
later  period  became  a  generally  accepted  doc- 
trine of  Jewish  belief. 

While  still  a  prophet,  EzekiePs  methods  dif- 
fer from  the  older  school  and  by  his  very  sys- 
tematizing and  constructive  work  he  eliminates 
the  necessity  for  the  seer.  After  the  ritual 
and  ceremonial  and  all  laws  have  been  elabor- 
ated and  written  down  in  detail  there  is  no 
longer  a  scope  for  the  prophet,  who  as  the  inter- 
mediary for  Jehovah  has  to  reveal  his  com- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  141 

mands.  Ezekiel  may  therefore  be  looked  upon 
as  the  father  of  Judaism,  who  with  Jeremiah 
broached  the  new  idea  of  personal  moral  re- 
sponsibility, which  led  to  individual  piety,  and 
in  another  direction  by  continuing  the  work  be- 
gun in  Deuteronomy  tended  to  develop  religion 
into  dogma  and  ritual. 

In  these  labors  Ezekiel  did  not  stand  alone, 
but  was  supported  by  a  number  of  minor  proph- 
ets and  teachers  whose  names  have  not  been 
preserved.  The  aim  of  all  was  to  evolve  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  sacrifices  which  had  been  the 
principal  form  of  worship,  particularly  as  part 
of  national  festivals.  Naturally  a  new  and  holy 
importance  was  impressed  upon  the  sabbath  and 
prayer  and  devotional  exercises  were  made  the 
prominent  feature  of  the  day.  Possibly  the 
writings  of  the  great  prophets  were  read  and 
certainly  many  of  the  Psalms  were  composed  for 
devotional  purposes.  The  formless  sacrificial 
worship  was  gradually  transformed  into  the 
services  of  the  synagogue,  the  beginning  of  an 
organized  church. 

While  considerable  literary  activity  had  al- 
ready appeared  in  the  declining  years  of  the 


142  The  Old  Testament: 

kingdom  of  Judah,  it  was  now  stimulated  by  the 
advanced  culture  of  Babylonia,  where  writing 
was  nearly  universal  and  employed  in  everyday 
affairs.  A  class  of  prophets,  priests  and  scribes 
was  formed  among  the  Jews,  who  began  to  col- 
lect, transcribe  and  annotate  the  various  writ- 
ings brought  from  Canaan.  During  the  whole 
duration  of  the  exile  the  historical,  prophetic 
and  poetical  works  were  edited,  in  part  re- 
written and  all  colored  from  the  new  Deuter- 
onomic  standpoint.  To  this  subject  we  will  re- 
turn hereafter. 

It  seems  that  the  Jews  were  not  directly 
affected  by  the  political  revulsions  that  took 
place  in  the  Babylonian  empire.  When  Nebu- 
chadnezzar died  in  562  B.  C.  after  a  brilliant 
reign  of  43  years,  there  were  several  changes  of 
rulers  interspersed  with  assassinations,  which 
indicated  the  decline  of  the  empire.  Finally 
Nabonidus,  a  prince  of  Babylon,  attained  power 
in  555  B.  C.  Towards  the  end  of  his  reign  his 
son  Belsharuzur  probably  shared  his  authority. 
In  the  Bible  he  is  called  Belshazzar  and  men- 
tioned as  the  last  king  of  Babylonia.  Nabonidus 
was  a  very  weak  king  who  gave  his  time  to  re- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  143 

ligious  worship  and  building  operations  and  was 
not  fitted  to  cope  with  the  mighty  problems  that 
confronted  him.  For  after  the  death  of  Nebu- 
chadnezzar the  international  situation  had  as- 
sumed a  quite  different  aspect.  Cyrus  had  made 
himself  King  of  Persia  about  553  B.  C.  and  sub- 
dued a  number  of  adjoining  states.  By  547  B.  C. 
he  had  reached  Lydia  in  his  conquering  march  to 
Asia  Minor,  had  defeated  Croesus  the  King  of 
Lydia  and  obtained  control  of  the  Greek  colonies 
on  the  Aegean  Sea.  At  this  time  it  became  evi- 
dent to  the  Jews  that  the  Babylonian  empire  in 
its  general  decay  and  corruption  would  not  be 
able  to  withstand  the  trained  and  victorious 
armies  of  the  Persian  monarch.  With  intense 
excitement  they  followed  every  move,  because 
they  felt  that  the  defeat  of  Babylonia  was  the 
first  step  required  to  secure  their  freedom  and 
liberty  to  return  to  Jerusalem. 

At  this  time  a  great  prophet  arose  whose 
name  has  not  been  preserved,  but  who  is  iden- 
tified as  the  writer  of  the  chapters  XL.  to  LV.  of 
the  book  ascribed  at  a  later  date  to  Isaiah.  It 
has  already  been  stated  that  all  the  pro- 
phetic books  have  interpolations,  additions  and 


144  The  Old  Testament: 

changes  and  some  of  the  larger  ones  are  in  fact 
a  collection  from  different  authors  that  seemed 
to  the  editors  to  have  some  resemblance  to  one 
another.  In  the  case  of  Isaiah  up  to  about 
chapter  XXXVIII.  most  of  the  text,  but  not 
all,  is  probably  written  by  himself,  while  the 
chapters  XL.  to  LV.  are  by  Deutero-Isaiah 
(second)  and  the  balance  by  Trito-Isaiah 
(third).  It  is  not  often  that  such  distinctions 
can  be  so  clearly  determined,  but  in  Deutero- 
Isaiah,  it  is  so  evident,  that  it  was  recognized 
at  a  very  early  period  by  criticism  and  has  since 
been  universally  accepted.  For  our  author  fore- 
sees the  destruction  of  the  Babylonian  empire 
by  Cyrus,  mentions  him  by  name,  glories  in  it 
and  calls  him  the  deliverer  chosen  by  God  to 
bring  about  this  result. 

Among  his  pithy  sayings  we  may  mention : — 

The  everlasting  God,  the  Lord,  the  Creator  of 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  fainteth  not,  neither  is 
weary,  there  is  no  searching  of  his  under- 
standing. 

For  my  thoughts  are  not  your  thoughts, 
neither  are  your  ways  my  ways,  saitb  the  Lord. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  to  his  anointed,  to  Cyrus, 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  145 

whose  right  hand  I  have  holden,  to  subdue  the 
nations  before  him: 

I  have  raised  him  up  in  righteousness,  and  1 
will  make  straight  all  his  ways;  he  shall  build 
my  city,  and  he  shall  let  my  exiles  go  free. 

Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the  right- 
eous man  his  thoughts :  and  let  him  return  unto 
the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him: 
and  to  our  God  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon. 

Whether  Deutero-Isaiah  wrote  anonymously 
or  whether  his  name  has  not  been  preserved 
or  whether  he  assumed  the  name  of  Isaiah  to 
give  greater  authority  to  his  words  cannot  be 
determined.  But  the  style,  the  tone  and  con- 
tents of  his  message  show  a  marked  and  great 
individuality,  not  equalled  by  any  prophet  who 
preceded  him.  This  advance  is  so  pronounced 
that  it  initiates  a  new  epoch  of  thought  and  be- 
lief. He  is  the  first  that  looks  upon  Jehovah 
as  the  creator  of  the  universe,  that  dwells  in 
heaven  and  directs  and  determines  the  fate  of 
every  nation.  He  has  chosen  Israel  as  his  peo- 
ple to  live  in  holiness  and  righteousness  as  a 
prototype,  an  example  to  be  followed  by  all 
nations.    Jehovah  is  no  longer  merely  the  God 


146  The  Old  Testament: 

of  wrath  and  chastisement,  but  the  loving  father 
who  is  desirous  to  pardon  and  to  show  mercy 
to  the  repentent.  These  chapters  of  Deutero 
Isaiah  have  ever  since  been  the  great  solace  and 
comfort  of  the  suffering  and  desponding  be- 
liever. 

Deutero-Isaiah's  prophecy  did  not  have  to 
wait  long  for  its  fulfillment,  for  within  a  few 
years,  in  538  B.  C.  Cyrus  entered  the  city  of 
Babylon  and  incorporated  the  kingdom  into  his 
great  Persian  empire.  He  was  not  only  a  super- 
ior general,  but  also  a  statesman  of  the  highest 
rank  and  a  subtle  diplomat.  The  policy  he 
pursued  towards  the  conquered  provinces  was 
the  very  opposite  to  the  one  the  Babylonian 
kings  had  employed.  Instead  of  harshness  he 
showed  leniency  and  thereby  won  not  only  the 
submission  but  the  affection  of  his  new  sub- 
jects. At  a  time  when  religion  formed  an  in- 
tegral part  of  life,  he  recognized  the  gods  of 
his  various  peoples  and  erected  temples  in  their 
honor.  The  same  policy  he  applied  to  the  Jews 
and  gave  them  permission  to  return  to  Jerusa- 
lem, to  re-build  their  temple  and  even  promised 
to  contribute  to  the  cost  of  its  erection.    Did 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  147 

they  avail  themselves  of  this  privilege  and  did 
they  return  at  once  in  large  numbers? 

According  to  the  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
as  we  now  have  them,  42,360  men  and  women 
and  7,337  slaves  went  to  Palestine.  This  state- 
ment was  generally  accepted  as  correct  until 
recently,  but  the  latest  opinion  of  many  com- 
petent critics  discredits  this  view  and  assumes 
that  the  numbers  mentioned  cannot  possibly  be 
true.  Our  present  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah 
were  originally  a  part  of  Chronicles  and  are  the 
work  of  the  same  author.  While  he  uses  some 
of  the  documents  composed  by  these  eminent 
men,  he  wrote  about  300  to  250  B.  C,  a  long  time 
after  the  events  he  relates  and  depicts  and 
colors  everything  from  his  own  standpoint. 

One  would  think  that  such  an  influx  of  50,000 
persons  as  given  by  him  into  a  sparsely  settled 
and  devastated  little  state  like  Judea  would 
have  brought  starvation  and  destruction.  It 
seems  more  probable,  as  the  latest  critics  point 
out,  that  at  the  time  but  very  few  exiles  availed 
themselves  of  the  liberty  accorded  them.  The 
wretched  conditions  at  Jerusalem  were  well 
known  to  them,  while  their  own  status  in  Baby- 


148  The  Old  Testament: 

Ionia  was  prosperous  and  satisfactory.  The 
glowing  picture  of  the  Messianic  age  that  their 
prophets  had  drawn,  was  not  sufficient  to  over- 
come the  advantages  of  present  well-being.  Nor 
must  we  forget  that  the  mere  right  to  return  to 
Palestine  and  to  live  there,  was  not  a  real  ful- 
fillment of  Messianic  prophecies,  as  its  citizens 
still  remained  subjects  of  the  Persian  empire. 
Nor  is  theory  and  practice  found  to  correspond 
very  often  in  the  realm  of  religious  belief.  For 
instance  our  modern  idea  of  heaven  and  an 
eternal  life  of  bliss  therein,  should  prompt  the 
devout  to  hope  for  an  early  death,  while  cer- 
tainly no  such  wish  is  entertained. 

Cyrus  appointed  Sheshbazzar,  a  son  of  the  de- 
posed king  Jehoiakin,  as  governor  of  Judea  and 
he  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Zerubbabel. 
Undoubtedly  a  number  of  exiles  accompanied 
him  to  Jerusalem,  but  the  conditions  were  by 
no  means  encouraging.  The  native  population 
had  never  given  up  some  kind  of  Jehovah  wor- 
ship and  had  built  a  simple  altar  on  the  old 
site.  The  influx  of  some  Babylonian,  Egyptian 
and  other  Jews  stimulated  the  desire  for  re- 
building the  old  temple.    The  material  wants 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  149 

and  suffering  of  the  community  were  such  how- 
ever, that  the  execution  of  the  project  could  not 
be  thought  of.  The  reality  was  in  sad  contrast 
with  the  glorious  future  the  prophets  had  de- 
scribed. 

Cyrus  died  in  529  B.  C.  and  a  number  of 
dynastic  changes  and  assassinations  followed, 
until  in  521  B.  C.  Darius  ascended  the  throne 
and  finally  established  his  authority  in  519  B. 
C,  after  having  put  down  various  revolts  in 
different  parts  of  his  large  domains.  About 
this  time  in  520  B.  C.  the  two  prophets  Haggai 
and  Zechariah  began  to  agitate  in  Jerusalem 
and  to  stimulate  the  people  to  rebuild  the  tem- 
ple. Haggai  argued  that  having  acquired  com- 
fortable homes,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  wor- 
shipers of  Jehovah  also  to  erect  a  house  for 
him,  for  he  had  already  shown  his  displeasure 
by  giving  them  poor  crops  and  hard  times. 
Should  they  comply  with  his  wishes  he  w^ould 
give  them  peace  and  prosperity  and  make  them 
independent  of  the  heathen  nations.  While- 
Haggai  was  a  layman,  Zechariah  was  a  priest 
and  he  assumed  a  loftier  tone  and  appealed  to 


I50  The  Old  Testament: 

higher  motives.    The  building  of  the  temple  pro- 
gressed and  was  completed  in  516  B.  C. 

After  this  event  there  is  an  absolute  gap  of 
at  least  seventy  years  in  our  information  about 
occurrences  in  Palestine.  It  is  not  difficult  to 
draw  a  picture  in  a  general  way  about  the  con- 
ditions prevailing.  While  the  Persian  officials 
preserved  order  and  collected  taxes  vigorously, 
they  do  not  seem  to  have  paid  any  attention  to 
minor  movements  among  the  peoples  as  long  as 
they  did  not  lead  to  acts  of  absolute  insubordina- 
tion. The  little  Persian  sub-province  of  Judea 
surrounded  by  deadly  enemies  had  shrunk  to 
insignificant  dimensions.  The  Philistines  on  the 
west  had  encroached  largely  on  its  territory, 
while  the  Edomites  advanced  from  the  south 
to  Hebron,  and  the  Ammonites  and  Moabites 
also  pressed  upon  them.  At  the  time  of  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah  the  little  colony  only  extended 
about  twenty  miles  from  north  to  south  and 
about  as  much  from  east  to  west.  The  people 
were  impoverished  and  discouraged.  The  Je- 
hovah worship  was  kept  up  in  some  fashion 
after  the  prescriptions  of  the  Deuteronomic  ref- 
ormation but  it  is  difficult  to  determine  in  what 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  151 

way,  and  then  also  many  had  lost  all  faith  in 
their  God.  The  wealthier  classes  and  even 
the  higher  priesthood  intermarried  freely  with 
the  heathen  inhabitants  and  the  extinction  of 
the  distinctive  Jewish  race  seemed  imminent. 
There  was  however  a  small  but  devoted  class  of 
true  adherents  of  the  Jehovah  worship  left 
and  to  these  the  fervent  appeals  of  Malachi  and 
Trito-Isaiah  were  addressed  about  the  middle 
of  the  fifth  century  B.  C. 

Malachi  told  them  that  the  golden  age,  the 
promised  prosperity,  did  not  come  because 
they  did  not  obey  the  commands  of  Jehovah  and 
did  not  live  up  to  the  law  of  Moses.  Trito-Isaiah 
on  the  other  hand  speaks  in  an  exalted  tone  of 
the  one  and  only  God,  of  the  glorious  mission 
of  his  people,  when  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
will  join  them  in  acknowledging  him  and  he 
cheers  and  comforts  them.  These  two  prophets 
preaching  a  pronounced  monotheism  together 
with  a  rigid  observance  of  a  cult,  prepare  the 
way  also  for  a  church  organization  and  a  theo- 
cratic system. 

Of  the  Jews  in  exile  we  do  not  have  more  than 
a  general  knowledge  during  this  period.     Cer- 


152  The  Old  Testament: 

tainly  only  a  very  small  number  conld  have  re- 
turned to  Palestine  and  one  of  the  chief  reasons 
must  have  been  the  prosperous  conditions  which 
they  enjoyed  in  Babylonia.  During  the  Persian 
period  perfect  freedom  of  domicile  was  ac- 
corded them  and  many  settled  in  the  Persian 
capitals  of  Susa  and  Ecbatana. 

Among  others  a  young  man  of  wealth  and 
standing,  of  Jewish  descent,  Nehemiah  by  name, 
had  attained  an  honored  position.  He  had  been 
appointed  a  cup-bearer  to  the  king,  Artaxerxes 
at  Susa.  He  was  a  man  of  true  piety  and  imbued 
with  a  sincere  love  for  his  people.  When  he 
heard  of  the  terrible  plight  of  the  Jews  in  Judea, 
he  implored  the  king  to  allow  him  to  go  there. 
Artaxerxes  not  only  complied  with  his  wish  but 
appointed  him  governor  of  the  province,  gave 
him  an  escort  and  ample  means  and  power  to 
carry  out  the  object  of  his  wishes.  When  Ne- 
hemiah arrived  there  in  July  445  B.  C.  he  found 
that  the  first  and  most  important  problem  was 
to  rebuild  the  walls  and  fortifications  of  Jerusa- 
lem to  prevent  roving  hordes  from  overrunning 
the  city  at  will.  In  this  undertaking  he  was 
thwarted  in  every  possible  way  by  the  inhabi- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  153 

tants  of  the  surrounding  country  and  even  by 
some  of  the  Persian  officials.  But  by  dint  of 
courage,  foresight  and  perseverance  he  over- 
came all  difficulties.  He  divided  the  population 
into  shifts  and  had  them  work  under  the  protec- 
tion of  armed  men  and  accomplished  the  feat  of 
erection  in  52  days.  When  he  wished  to  man  the 
fortifications  and  to  protect  the  gates,  he  found 
that  there  were  not  men  enough  in  the  city 
and  had  to  draft  them  from  the  adjoining  coun- 
try and  to  settle  them  in  Jerusalem.  This  is 
another  proof  how  small  the  population  was  at 
the  time  and  that  the  immigration  from  Baby- 
Ionia  could  not  have' reached  large  numbers. 

Security  against  the  attack  from  without 
having  been  attained,  he  turned  his  attention  to 
remedy  some  of  the  most  glaring  defects  of  the 
social,  religious  and  moral  conditions  of  the 
people.  He  found  that  the  oppression  of  the 
poor  and  the  helpless  by  the  wealthy  and  pow- 
erful, had  reached  such  proportions  that  the 
economic  and  moral  tone  of  the  community  had 
sadly  deteriorated.  He  intervened  in  person 
and  induced  the  return  to  the  sufferers  of  fields, 
vineyards  and  houses  that  had  been  improperly 


1^4  The  Old  Testament: 

acquired  by  the  unscrupulous.  He  exacted 
promises  that  exhorbitant  rates  of  interest 
should  no  longer  be  exacted  from  the  needy.  He 
insisted  on  the  most  strict  observance  of  the 
sabbath.  This  was  really  an  innovation  and 
required  very  strong  measures  to  be  enforced. 
For  a  while  he  had  the  gates  of  the  city  closed 
and  traffic  of  every  kind  stopped.  He  visited 
the  people  in  the  country  districts  in  person 
and  obtained  their  promise  to  abstain  from  work 
and  to  hallow  the  day.  The  worship  at  the 
temple  he  found  in  a  deplorable  state  of  decay 
and  corruption.  While  the  Deuteronomic  law 
was  nominally  observed,  it  was  not  kept  in 
spirit  and  many  heathen  practices  had  crept  in. 
He  found  the  priesthood  poor,  discontented  and 
corrupt.  This  he  remedied  by  introducing 
tithes  that  were  regularly  collected  and  distrib- 
uted to  the  different  orders  of  the  priesthood, 
which  gave  them  a  secure  income  and  raised 
their  standing  and  influence  in  the  community. 

Another  most  pernicious  practice  which  he 
thought  had  been  introduced,  but  most  likely 
had  always  existed  in  the  Hebrew  state,  he  now 
felt  impelled  to  oppose.     That  was  the  inter- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  155 

marriage  with  heathen  women.  The  Jewish 
colony  in  Babylonia  at  an  early  day  saw  the 
necessity  of  keeping  apart  from  their  heathen 
neighbors  so  as  to  preserve  their  identity. 
Such  an  aim  was  inseparable  from  a  religion 
that  was  based  on  race  and  nationality.  Nehe- 
miah  may  have  arrived  at  such  conclusions  by 
his  own  observations,  but  most  likely  consid- 
ered it  a  part  of  the  laws  ordained  by  Jehovah. 
While  he  rebuked  and  condemned  these  mixed 
alliances  he  could  not  as  yet  enforce  their  dis- 
solution in  every  case.  In  fact  all  the  reforms 
here  indicated  required  much  time  and  the  ef- 
fort of  many  years  before  they  could  be  made 
effective.  Changes  of  such  a  sweeping  char- 
acter could  not  have  originated  within  the  com- 
munity and  it  required  the  strong  personality 
of  Nehemiah  with  his  indomitable  will,  his  de- 
votion and  self-sacrifice,  supported  by  his  of- 
ficial capacity  as  Persian  governor,  to  initiate 
them. 

It  must  be  stated  at  this  point  that  the  views 
presented  here,  that  Nehemiah 's  activity  which 
began  in  445  B.  C.  preceded  that  of  Ezra  by 
probably  thirteen  years,  is  not  in  accordance 


156  The  Old  Testament: 

with  the  Books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  as  we 
now  have  them.  The  author  writing  at  a  time 
remote  from  the  date  of  the  occurrences  may 
have  mis-stated  the  names  of  Persian  kings  he 
mentions,  or  he  may  have  been  biased  and 
wished  to  accord  the  greater  merit  to  the  scribe 
Ezra  in  preference  to  the  layman  Nehemiah. 
However  that  be,  many  modern  critics  are  con- 
vinced that  the  great  reforms  introduced  by 
Nehemiah  and  particularly  the  building  of 
the  fortifications  and  establishing  a  safe  and 
ordered  government,  must  have  been  accom- 
plished before  the  religious  innovations  ef- 
fected by  Ezra  could  have  been  undertaken. 

The  Jews  in  Babylonia  always  retained  a 
very  active  interest  in  the  affairs  in  Palestine 
and  encouraged  and  supported  their  brethren  as 
far  as  they  could.  They  felt  that  now  when 
ordered  conditions  had  been  established  the 
time  had  arrived  for  taking  an  important  step 
that  had  been  in  preparation  for  a  long  time. 
We  have  intimated  how  the  intellectual  and  re- 
ligious activity  during  the  exile  centered  largely 
in  the  efforts  of  the  scribes  in  collecting  all  the 
old  traditions,  legendary  material  and  other 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  157 

writings  of  their  ancestors  and  in  enlarging, 
editing  and  welding  it  into  a  well  connected  sys- 
tem. Most  detailed  prescriptions  of  worship 
and  ritual  and  directions  intended  for  the  whole 
life  of  the  people,  destined  to  be  holy  and 
specially  chosen  by  Jehovah,  were  elaborated. 
Such  a  work  could  not  be  complete  until  it  had 
been  actually  introduced  in  Palestine  and  ap- 
plied in  practice.  They  thought  that  the  time 
had  now  come  to  make  this  effort  and  the  priest 
and  scribe  Ezra  determined  to  undertake  this 
mission. 

Accordingly  he  applied  to  King  Artaxerxes 
I.  for  permission  to  go  to  Palestine.  This  was 
granted  and  since  his  aims  were  purely  religi- 
ous, he  was  given  power  to  enforce  the  laws 
that  his  God  had  given  his  people.  The  mon- 
arch thought  this  would  tend  to  order  and  quiet, 
but  Ezra  was  not  entrusted  with  any  civil  ap- 
pointment. 

The  party  led  by  Ezra  arrived  in  Jerusalem 
in  432  B.  C.  after  a  difficult  journey  of  four 
months.  It  consisted  of  1,760  men,  comprising 
probably  6,000  to  7,000  souls,  and  they  brought 
much  valuable  treasure  with  them.    After  study- 


158  The  Old  Testament: 

ing  tlie  situation  for  four  months  he  became 
convinced  that  the  most  serious  evil  he  had  to 
combat  was  the  large  number  of  mixed  mar- 
riages, including  many  high  officials  and  wealthy- 
citizens  with  heathen  wives.  At  this  he  was 
horrified  and  determined  to  have  them  all  ter- 
minated. He  called  a  public  meeting  of  the 
whole  people  and  it  was  resolved  (December, 
432  B.  C),  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of  some, 
that  all  foreign  women  and  their  children  must 
be  removed. 

A  commission  was  appointed  to  examine  every 
case  and  to  execute  this  measure  with  strict 
impartiality.  The  hardship  of  this  procedure, 
the  breaking  of  family  ties,  and  the  changes 
in  social  life  that  it  entailed,  make  it  astonish- 
ing that  it  could  have  been  executed.  Nor  did 
all  accept  this  decision  and  many  animosities 
were  aroused  not  only  among  the  Jews,  but 
also  with  influential  heathen  neighbors  whose 
daughters  and  sisters  with  their  children  were 
thus  expelled. 

After  this  had  been  settled  Ezra  called  a 
great  assembly  of  the  whole  people  in  October 
431  B.  C.  and  read  to  them  the  law  that  he  had 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  159 

brought.  They  were  greatly  shocked  and  horri- 
fied to  hear  how  in  their  ignorance  they  had 
sinned,  and  all  pledged  themselves  by  solemn 
oath  hereafter  *'  To  walk  in  God's  law,  which 
was  given  by  Moses,  the  servant  of  God.'' 
They  also  subscribed  their  names,  including 
those  who  had  returned  with  Ezra  and  all 
others  whether  of  Jewish  descent  or  not,  who 
with  their  families  had  separated  themselves 
from  the  peoples  of  the  land  unto  the  law  of 
God.  Thereupon  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  was 
celebrated  for  the  first  time  according  to  the 
directions  of  the  law. 

While  under  Josiah  the  Deuteronomic  law 
had  been  decreed  by  the  king  and  forced  upon 
the  people,  in  this  case  it  was  voluntarily  ac- 
cepted. But  of  course  the  practical  execution 
and  the  sincere  adherence  to  its  manifold  pre- 
scriptions was  not  so  easily  effected  and  must 
have  required  a  long  time  and  many  struggles. 
By  a  strange  irony,  with  the  institution  of  the 
new  law,  Ezra  lost  his  previous  standing  and 
prominence  and  became  a  simple  priest  and 
scribe,  while  the  whole  power  of  the  new  the- 
ocracy became  centered  in  the  high-priest.    At 


160  The  Old  Testament: 

this  tune  Ehashib  was  the  occupant  of  this  office, 
although  he  was  a  friend  and  relative  of  the 
Ammonite  Tobiah,  and  his  grandson  Manasseh 
had  married  the  daughter  of  the  Samaritan  of- 
ficial Sanballat.  Under  the  semblance  of  ac- 
cepting the  new  law  he  ignored  it  and  violated 
it  whenever  it  suited  him.  He  gave  special 
privileges  to  his  heathen  friend  Tobiah  and 
continued  to  support  his  grandson  who  had 
married  the  daughter  of  a  Samaritan  who  de- 
fied the  law.  Many  of  the  heathen  wives  began 
to  return  with  their  children  and  one  of  the 
leading  features  of  the  new  institution  was 
openly  violated.  At  this  stage  the  strong  hand 
of  Nehemiah,  who  had  been  absent  for  a  time, 
again  asserted  itself.  He  could  not  remove  the 
high-priest  but  he  drove  his  grandson  Manasseh 
and  his  friend  Tobiah  out  of  Jewish  territory 
and  rigidly  enforced  the  prohibition  against 
mixed  marriages.  This  action  produced  im- 
portant consequences,  for  it  led  to  a  complete 
split  between  the  Jewish  and  the  Samaritan 
communities.  Manasseh  established  a  separate 
Samaritan  worship  and  was  made  high-priest. 
At  a  later  date  a  temple  was  erected  at  Mount 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  i6i 

Gerizim  near  the  former  capital  of  Shechem 
in  Israel. 

The  Samaritans  while  largely  of  old  He- 
brew race  were  considerably  mixed  with  heathen 
elements.  Nevertheless  the  Jehovah  worship 
predominated  and  the  Deuteronomic  reforma- 
tion had  been  nominally  accepted.  Even  now 
after  the  separation  they  introduced  most  of 
the  precepts  of  the  law  brought  by  Ezra,  for 
the  Samaritan  Bible  which  has  been  preserved, 
agrees  in  its  essentials  with  the  Hebrew  Bible. 
There  is  still  to  this  day  a  small  sect  of  Sa- 
maritans who  adhere  to  the  old  Faith. 

The  laws  that  were  read  to  the  people  by 
Ezra  have  been  called  the  Priestly  Code  by 
modern  critics.  Its  peculiar  character  and  the 
language  in  which  it  is  expressed  is  such,  that 
it  can  be  detected  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
Pentateuch  into  which  it  has  been  embodied. 
It  deals  largely  with  ceremonial  regulations  re- 
lating to  sacrifices  and  purification,  the  pro- 
hibition of  all  intermarriage  with  heathen  peo- 
ples, the  strict  observance  of  the  sabbath,  the 
command  to  bring  the  first-fruits  and  the  first- 
born to  the  temple  for  the  priesthood  and  tithes 


i62  The  Old  Testament: 

for  the  Levites  and  other  measures  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  temple-service,  besides  numerous 
other  subjects.  At  one  time  this  code  formed 
part  of  an  independent  narrative,  but  now  it  is 
contained  principally  in  sections  of  the  Books 
of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  and  Numbers  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch. Such  far-reaching  changes  entering 
into  the  minutest  details  of  daily  life  could  not 
have  been  adopted  quickly  and  it  must  have 
taken  many  years  before  a  whole  people  ob- 
served them  cheerfully  and  without  effort.  In 
practice  no  doubt  many  modifications  of  the 
original  provisions,  particularly  as  to  the  tem- 
ple service  with  its  castes  of  priests  and  Levites, 
had  to  be  adopted.  It  is  not  certain  whether 
Ezra  brought  only  the  Priestly  Code  with  him 
which  he  read  to  the  people  or  whether  he  also 
introduced  the  whole  of  the  Pentateuch  and 
Joshua  as  elaborated  in  Babylonia.  Anyway 
within  a  few  years,  by  about  400  B.  C.  they  were 
known  and  accepted  in  Palestine,  as  the  Samari- 
tan Bible  testifies.  The  Pentateuch  must  have 
been  completed  before  or  shortly  after  Ezra's 
departure  for  Jerusalem  and  we  will  endeavor 
to  give  at  least  some  hints  as  to  the  probable 
method  of  its  composition. 


VI. 

FOUNDATION  OF  JUDAISM. 

We  have  seen  that  the  prophets  before  the 
exile  were  not  acquainted  with  the  contents  of 
what  we  call  the  Pentateuch,  or  at  any  rate 
they  did  not  allude  to  it  in  their  writings. 
That  does  not  preclude  the  probability  that  dif- 
ferent legendary  narratives  were  believed  and 
repeated  by  the  people  and  that  Moses  occu- 
pied a  prominent  part  as  a  great  national  leader 
and  law-giver  in  them.  Whatever  position  may 
have  been  accorded  to  him  in  these  stories,  there 
is  nothing  whatsoever  known  about  him  posi- 
tively as  a  historical  personage. 

Critics  are  agreed  that  he  could  not  have 
been  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch,  because  there 
is  overwhelming  internal  evidence  against  such 
a  view.  Whatever  popular  belief  may  have 
been  we  know  of  no  written  record  that  refers 
to  him  until  the  book  of  the  Law,  which  was 
said  to  have  been  found  by  the  high-priest  in 

163 


164  The  Old  Testament: 

the  reign  of  Josiah  in  621  B.  C.  While  the  pre- 
cise contents  of  this  book  are  not  known,  it  is 
assumed  that  it  probably  consisted  of  certain 
chapters  of  the  later  fifth  part  of  the  Penta- 
teuch called  Deuteronomy  and  that  the  impres- 
sion was  given  as  though  this  had  been  written 
by  Moses  under  the  inspiration  of  Jehovah. 
The  commanding  figure  accorded  to  Moses  in 
the  Pentateuch  does  not  seem  to  have  been  at- 
tained until  the  virtual  completion  of  this  work, 
say  about  the  time  of  Ezra. 

When  the  Hebrew  tribes  invaded  Canaan  and 
settled  in  it,  they  became  acquainted  with  all 
the  legends  and  traditions  that  were  current  in 
the  land.  The  occupation  of  the  country  was 
so  gradual  that  it  probably  required  two  cen- 
turies before  it  was  accomplished  and  about 
that  time  they  had  largely  merged  with  the 
resident  population  and  had  come  to  believe 
that  all  the  stories  they  had  heard,  related  to 
their  own  ancestors.  This  new  material  was 
incorporated  with  their  own  older  traditions 
and  the  whole  repeated,  enlarged,  and  trans- 
mitted by  word  of  mouth.  It  is  diffcult  to  say 
when  it  was  reduced  to  writing,  but  critics 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  165 

point  to  many  indications  that  it  must  have 
been  near  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century 
B.C. 

But  besides  the  innumerable  modifications 
that  had  accrued  during  the  long  period  of  for- 
mation, we  have  two  independent  sources  for 
these  ^*  Sagas  ''  as  we  may  call  them.  The  two 
may  yet  be  distinguished  and  separated  to  a 
considerable  extent,  because  in  the  one  the  name 
of  Jehovah  is  used  and  in  the  other  the  word 
Elohim  is  employed  to  designate  their  god,  as 
previously  pointed  out.  The  Jehovist  version 
is  generally  supposed  to  have  appeared  in  the 
southern  kingdom  of  Judah,  the  Elohist  in  the 
northern  Israel.  Many  of  these  stories  origi- 
nated and  were  associated  with  Canaanite 
shrines  and  sanctuaries  and  were  connected  with 
the  primitive  worship  at  these  places.  One  in- 
teresting illustration  may  be  given  how  these 
legends  were  used  to  connect  Hebrew  traditions 
with  these  local  heroes.  In  Genesis  XXXII-24 
we  read  that  Jacob  wrestled  with  a  man  all 
night  and  his  thigh  was  strained  and  when  the 
man  wished  to  leave  in  the  morning  and  Jacob 
would  not  allow  it  until  he  should  bless  him,  he 


1 66  The  Old  Testament: 

asked  him  his  name.  On  replying  that  it  is 
Jacob,  the  stranger  says,  ^^  Thy  name  shall  be 
called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Israel :  for  thou  hast 
striven  with  God — and  hast  prevailed.''  An- 
other version  is  given  in  Genesis  XXXV-10 
*^  And  God  said  unto  him,  thy  name  is  Jacob: 
thy  name  shall  not  be  called  any  more  Jacob, 
but  Israel  shall  be  thy  name :  and  he  called  his 
name  Israel."  The  object  is  to  prove  that 
Jacob  and  Israel  are  identical  persons  and  that 
the  Hebrew  tribes  Bene-Israel  were  descended 
from  Jacob. 

The  origin  of  some  of  the  narratives  can 
be  surmised,  others  directly  traced.  The  Para- 
dise story  with  its  polytheistic  ending  express- 
ing fear  lest  man  on  eating  fruit  from  the  Tree 
of  Life  may  become  as  one  of  us,  is  taken  from 
some  unknown  mythology,  possibly  Babylonian. 
LikeAvise  Genesis  VI.  when  the  *^  Sons  of  God 
intermarried  with  the  daughters  of  men  and 
their  children  were  the  Nephilim,  the  giants, 
and  the  mighty  men  which  were  of  old,  the  men 
of  renown.''  The  story  of  the  tower  of  Babel 
and  the  confusion  of  tongues  given  in  Genesis 
XL  seems  to  be  from  a  similar  source.    ^^  And 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  167 

they  said,  Let  us  build  us  a  city,  and  a  tower, 
whose  top  may  reach  unto  Heaven — And  God 
came  down  and  said.  Behold,  they  are  one  peo- 
ple and  they  have  all  one  language;  and  this 
is  what  they  begin  to  do :  and  now  nothing  will 
be  withholden  from  them  which  they  purpose 
to  do.  Let  us  go  down  there  and  confound 
their  language,  that  they  may  not  understand 
one  another  ^s  speech. ' ' 

The  narrative  of  the  ten  antediluvian  patri- 
archs, of  whom  Methuselah  is  best  known,  (and 
of  which  there  are  two  versions)  has  recently 
been  proved  to  have  been  borrowed  from  Baby- 
lonia, as  well  as  the  stories  of  the  Deluge 
previously  mentioned. 

After  these  narratives  had  been  committed 
to  writing  for  about  a  century,  and  had  under- 
gone new  changes  and  alterations,  they  were 
merged  into  one  book  which  critics  call  the  Je- 
hovist-Elohist,  not  long  before  the  promulga- 
tion of  Deuteronomy,  say  about  640  B.  C.  This 
literary  effort  probably  emanated  from  the 
same  group  of  scribes  who  prepared  Deuter- 
onomy. In  some  cases  the  two  versions  are 
given  in  succession,  in  others  a  part  of  one  is 


i68  The  Old  Testament: 

omitted  or  they  overlap  and  then  again  both  do 
not  treat  precisely  the  same  material.  In 
Genesis  II.  Jehovah  Elohim  are  used  together, 
possibly  so  as  not  to  make  the  transition  from 
one  name  to  the  other  too  abrupt.  An  inter- 
esting indication  of  the  endeavor  to  explain 
the  use  of  the  two  terms  is  to  be  found  in 
Exodus  VI-2  ^^  And  God  spake  unto  Moses, 
and  said  to  him,  I  am  Jehovah :  and  I  appeared 
unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and  unto  Jacob,  as 
God  Almighty,  but  by  my  name  Jehovah  I  was 
not  known  to  them.** 

Besides  the  narratives  just  referred  to  there 
are  very  many  that  clearly  indicate  that  they 
are  derived  from  Hebrew  traditions.  As  such 
we  may  point  out  some  of  the  stories  in  con- 
nection with  the  patriarchs,  their  wives  and 
their  children,  the  migration  to  Egypt,  besides 
others.  They  relate  family  history  in  a  child- 
like manner,  assume  that  a  single  family 
grew  to  become  a  whole  nation  and  show 
how  the  desire  to  explain  present  condi- 
tions quite  unconsciously  transformed  dim  rec- 
ollections into  legends.  They  were  permeated 
with  religious  ideas  some  of  which  are  very 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  169 

old,  others  bearing  traces  of  prophetic  in- 
fluences. In  other  words,  they  are  a  remarkable 
mixture  of  views,  notions  and  folk-lore  from 
different  periods  and  different  localities,  joined 
and  fitted  together  at  a  late  date  with  much 
skill  and  literary  ability. 

Within  this  material  critics  discover  certain 
strata  that  they  separate  and  designate  by 
special  titles,  such  as  the  book  of  the  Covenant 
and  others,  some  of  very  old  origin.  The  Je- 
hovist  has  the  revelation  take  place  at  Mount 
Sinai,  the  Elohist  at  Horeb.  We  have  only 
pointed  out  a  few  salient  features  here,  for  to 
enter  upon  all  the  details  would  require  ex- 
tended study. 

Independently  of  these  collections  there 
grew  up  quite  naturally  a  series  of  rules  and 
regulations  about  the  priestly  functions,  the 
sacrifices,  and  the  cult  generally  in  connection 
with  the  sanctuaries.  At  these  places  all  the 
usages,  customs  and  primitive  legal  notions 
pertaining  to  the  civil  as  well  as  the  religious 
affairs  of  the  people  were  preserved,  forming 
a  kind  of  common  law  of  which  the  priesthood 
had  charge.    At  first  all  was  transmitted  orally, 


170  The  Old  Testament: 

but  as  the  material  accumulated  and  grew  in 
importance  and  possibly  a  certain  uniformity 
was  desired,  it  was  found  necessary  to  commit 
it  to  writing. 

A  part  of  this  priestly  code  together  with 
new  matter  suggested  by  the  prophetic  teach- 
ing, was  incorporated  into  the  Deuteronomic 
law  promulgated  in  621  B.  C.  We  find  therein 
such  old  barbaric  commands  as,  ^^  When  thou 
drawest  near  to  a  city  to  fight  against  it — and 
it  will  make  no  peace,  but  will  war  against  you, 
then  thou  shalt  besiege  it:  and  when  the  Lord, 
thy  God,  delivereth  it  into  thine  hand,  thou 
shalt  smite  every  male  thereof  with  the  edge 
of  the  sword — thus  thou  shalt  do  unto  all  the 
cities  which  are  very  far  oif  from  thee '' 

This  is  evidently  very  old,  most  likely  from 
the  early  times  of  the  invasion.  Compare  these 
directions  with  injunctions  of  the  same  code, 
that  put  to  shame  our  modern  economic  con- 
ditions : 

*  *  If  there  be  a  poor  man,  one  of  thy  brethren 
in  thy  land — thou  shalt  surely  open  thy  hand 
unto  him,  and  shalt  surely  lend  sufficient  for 
his  need  in  that  which  he  wanteth — and  thy 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  171 

heart  shall  not  be  grieved  when  thou  givest 
unto  him. — Thou  shalt  surely  open  thine  hand 
unto  thy  brother,  to  thy  needy,  and  to  the  poor 
in  thy  land. 

*  *  If  thy  brother  be  sold  unto  thee  and  serve 
thee  six  years;  then  in  the  seventh  year  thou 
shalt  let  him  go  free  from  thee.  And  when 
thou  lettest  him  go  free  from  thee,  thou  shalt 
not  let  him  go  empty:  thou  shalt  furnish  him 
liberally  out  of  thy  flock,'*  etc. — ^'  Thou  shalt 
not  oppress  an  hired  servant  that  is  poor  and 
needy,  whether  he  be  of  thy  brethren,  or  of 
thy  strangers  that  are  in  thy  land:  In  his 
day  thou  shalt  give  him  his  hire,  neither  shall 
the  sun  go  down  upon  it;  for  he  is  poor  and 
setteth  his  heart  upon  if 

Imagine  that  such  commands  and  injunctions 
should  have  been  addressed  to  rude  and  no- 
madic tribes  in  the  desert. 

The  Deuteronomic  law  of  which  we  have  just 
spoken,  probably  also  had  an  introduction  em- 
bodying a  short  outline  of  the  essential  part 
of  the  Jehovist-Elohist  book.  The  fifth  book  of 
Moses  as  we  now  have  it,  bearing  the  same 
name  is  a  late  elaboration  of  this  fundamental 


172  The  Old  Testament: 

material  with  the  addition  of  much  new  matter. 
While  the  reform  instituted  under  Josiah  did 
not  find  general  acceptance  and  did  not  remain 
enforced  long,  it  had  a  permanent  and  stimu- 
lating effect  upon  the  literary  activity  of  the 
scribes.  When  the  leaders  of  the  priesthood 
were  carried  into  the  exile  they  took  with  them 
the  whole  literature  then  extant.  Temple  ser- 
vice being  impossible,  they  had  leisure  and 
under  the  necessity  of  elaborating  to  a  large 
extent  a  new  system  of  worship  adapted  to 
the  new  conditions,  they  revised  and  modified 
everything  in  this  new  Deuteronomic  spirit.  It 
was  their  firm  conviction  that  after  the  chastise- 
ment Jehovah  would  lead  them  back  to  Pales- 
tine, and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  prepare 
themselves  for  this  reinstatement.  To  do  so 
they  must  live  up  to  the  standards  of  the  laws 
proclaimed  by  their  God.  Ezekiel,  the  ablest 
of  this  school  had  visions  about  the  temple- 
service,  the  sacrifices,  the  priestly  caste  and 
Levites  and  ceremonial  generally.  Much  of 
this  no  doubt  was  an  enlargement  and  develop- 
ment of  the  traditional  priestly  records.  Hav- 
ing accepted  the  Deuteronomic  law  as  being  of 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  173 

very  old  origin,  they  could  not  help  gradually 
becoming  convinced  that  it  had  been  promul- 
gated by  Moses,  the  great  leader  and  prophet 
of  the  earliest  times.  Jehovah  always  com- 
municated with  his  chosen  people  through  his 
prophets  and  the  great  trust  imposed  upon 
Moses  made  him  the  most  important  and  most 
holy  of  them  all. 

Furthermore,  the  reigns  of  David  and  Solo- 
mon, representing  the  unity  of  the  whole  nation, 
the  high  order  of  prosperity  that  prevailed 
and  the  strength  and  glory  of  their  rule,  stood 
out  in  glowing  contrast  to  the  present.  Je- 
hovah appeared  to  have  been  well  pleased  and 
to  have  blessed  his  people  then  and  conse- 
quently they  must  have  obeyed  and  strictly 
followed  his  commands  and  injunctions.  In 
looking  back  the  whole  period  seemed  glorified 
with  the  halo  of  a  golden  age  and  David  be- 
came the  ideal  national  hero. 

The  temple  service  in  Solomon 's  temple  must 
have  conformed  in  every  detail  to  the  revealed 
law  and  it  became  their  aim  to  reconstruct  it 
in  its  original  grandeur,  so  as  to  be  prepared 
to  establish  it  when  occasion  permitted. 


174  The  Old  Testament: 

Such  were  the  leading  thoughts  by  which 
they  were  guided,  although  a  long  time  elapsed 
before  they  grasped  their  full  significance.  The 
next  step  was  inevitable.  If  Jehovah  wished 
his  people  to  obey  his  commands  and  had  re- 
vealed them  to  Moses,  it  became  their  duty  to 
reconstruct  the  history  of  these  events  from 
such  traditional  and  written  records  as  were 
available.  They  were  undoubtedly  sincere  and 
no  deception  was  intended,  but  they  became 
obsessed  with  certain  ideas  and  could  not  re- 
frain from  drawing  the  last  inevitable  conse- 
quences. This  process  was  a  gradual  one  and 
extended  over  a  century  and  a  half  until  the 
Pentateuch  was  completed  in  its  essential 
features.  Nor  was  it  confined  to  one  coterie, 
but  is  the  work  of  many  hands  and  varied  in- 
fluences. Critics  again  recognize  different 
strata  such  for  instance  as  the  Holiness  code, 
Leviticus  17-26.  This  has  been  called  so  be- 
cause much  stress  is  laid  on  holiness  and  the 
recurrent  phrase  ^'  I  am  the  Lord,  which  sanc- 
tify you,  am  holy.''  Many  other  details  which 
analysis  reveals  we  need  not  follow. 

Finally  it  was  thought  necessary  to  combine 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  175 

all  the  different  versions  into  one  consecutive 
whole,  taking  the  form  of  historical  recital  and 
including  a  large  part  of  what  is  called  Joshua 
to-day.  At  a  much  later  period  it  was  sub- 
divided into  the  six  books  we  now  possess. 
The  Jehovist-Elohist  book  was  supplemented 
by  the  dry  genealogical  tables  and  other  matter 
from  priestly  hands.  The  historical  or  narra- 
tive parts  were  entirely  subordinated  to  the  cen- 
tral idea  of  liturgical  and  religious  commands 
and  injunctions,  as  well  as  to  the  relation  of 
Jehovah  to  his  chosen  people,  all  of  which  are 
scattered  indiscriminately  through  the  whole 
work.  Many  things  are  repeated  in  different 
books  in  varying  forms,  old  and  new  concep- 
tions at  times  strangely  intermingled. 

The  influence  of  the  surroundings,  the  re- 
markable civilization  of  Babylonia  must  not  be 
forgotten.  The  first  chapter  of  Genesis  with 
its  systematic,  scientific  thought  in  regard  to 
the  order  of  creation  clearly  points  to  it.  The 
pronounced  monotheistic  conception  of  a  God 
who  is  the  creator  of  the  Universe  shows  that 
it  is  of  very  late  date  and  is  hardly  compatible 
with  many  parts  of  the  book. 


176  The  Old  Testament: 

On  the  other  hand  the  highly  developed  Baby- 
lonian temple  services  and  their  pomp,  as  well 
as  the  predominance  of  the  priestly  caste  are 
clearly  reflected  in  many  of  the  ritualistic  pro- 
visions of  the  Jewish  priestly  code. 

The  Pentateuch  and  Joshua  are  followed  by 
the  book  of  Judges.  This  endeavors  to  relate 
the  struggles  associated  with  the  invasion  and 
settlement  of  the  country  and  contains  some 
of  the  oldest  traditional  material  in  the  Old 
Testament,  including  some  of  the  most  forcible 
epic  poetry.  Intermixed  with  this  are  subjects 
and  views  that  make  it  most  incongruous  in  its 
present  form,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  deduce 
any  chronological  order  of  the  events  related. 

After  the  judges  we  have  the  historical 
books  Samuel  and  Kings.  They  are  based  upon 
old  chronicles  and  historical  writings  to  which 
frequent  reference  is  made  and  that  have  been 
lost. 

They  describe  the  period  of  Samuel  from 
the  first  king  Saul  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem and  close  with  the  statement  that  the  son  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  on  his  accession  to  the  throne 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  177 

in  562  B.  C.  liberated  the  Jewish  king  Jehoia- 
chin  who  had  been  dragged  into  captivity. 

That  alone  apart  from  many  other  indica- 
tions proves  that  they  were  written  during  the 
exile  and  were  drawn  from  various  sources. 
The  whole  treatment  is  in  the  Deuteronomio 
spirit,  subordinating  historical  data  entirely  to 
religious  views  and  aims.  Take  as  an  illustra- 
tion :  Kings  11-24  ^ '  And  the  Lord  sent  against 
him  bands  of  Chaldeans  and  bands  of  Syrians, 
and  bands  of  Moabites,  and  bands  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Ammon,  and  sent  them  against  Judah 
to  destroy  it,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  which  he  spake  by  the  hand  of  his  ser- 
vants the  prophets.  Surely  at  the  Command- 
ment of  the  Lord  came  this  upon  Judah,  to  re- 
move them  out  of  his  sight,  for  the  sins  of 
Manasseh,  according  to  all  that  he  did ;  and  also 
for  the  innocent  blood  that  he  shed;  for  he 
filled  Jerusalem  with  innocent  blood;  and  the 
Lord  would  not  pardon.  Now  the  rest  of  the 
acts  of  Jehoiakin,  and  all  that  he  did,  are  they 
not  written  in  the  books  of  the  chronicles  of 
the  kings  of  Judah?  " 

As  in  the  quotation  above  the  political  events 


178  The  Old  Testament: 

are  frequently  introduced  merely  to  show  how 
Jehovah  punished  the  Hebrew  people  for  its 
religious  trespasses  and  for  details  the  reader 
is  then  referred  to  historical  works. 

Finally  we  have  the  two  books  of  Chronicles 
and  Nehemiah  and  Ezra,  which  are  now  di- 
vided into  four  books,  but  originally  were  one. 
They  begin  with  many  pages  of  mostly  dry 
genealogical  tables  which  purport  to  give  the 
history  of  the  holy  people  from  Adam  to  David. 
Then  follow  descriptions  of  the  reigns  of  David 
and  Solomon  and  the  kingdom  of  Judah  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  The  northern  king- 
dom and  its  rulers  are  mentioned  more  inci- 
dentally while  the  interest  centers  in  events  oc- 
curring in  Judah,  as  the  true  representative  of 
the  people  of  Jehovah,  and  the  temple,  the  cult 
and  religious  institutions  are  treated  at  length. 
In  the  earlier  parts,  the  same  books  are  referred 
to  and  quoted  as  in  Kings,  but  later  on  the 
writer  seems  to  have  drawn  on  sources  not 
available  to  the  older  historical  work. 

After  that  we  have  a  very  detailed  recital  of 
the  return  and  exile  and  the  re-establishment 
of  the  Jewish  community  under  Ezra  and  Nehe- 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  179 

miah,  and  here  still  more  the  religious  tendency 
dominates  everything.  The  author  or  more 
properly  editor,  is  assumed  to  have  lived  about 
300  B.  C,  because  besides  other  evidence  he 
mentions  Jeoiada,  who  was  high-priest  at  the 
time  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Of  the  works  of  the  prophets  of  importance 
we  have  spoken,  while  some  of  the  minor  ones 
do  not  essentially  change  the  picture.  As  al- 
ready pointed  out  none  of  them  is  solely  the 
writing  of  the  author  under  whose  name  they 
appear.  They  are  mostly  collections,  often 
from  periods  widely  apart  in  time  and  grouped 
as  though  emanating  from  one  highly  honored 
source.  The  matter  in  many  cases  has  been 
altered,  interpolations  added  and  transposi- 
tions made  to  suit  the  views  and  tendencies  of 
a  later  period. 

The  prophetic  movement,  especially  as  per- 
sonified in  its  noblest  and  greatest  representa- 
tives, is  the  most  remarkable  phenomenon  in 
Hebrew  history.  These  men  attack  moral, 
social  and  religious  defects  and  evils  among 
their  countrymen,  which  probably  at  the  time 
were  equally  prevalent  everywhere.    They  are 


i8o  The  Old  Testament: 

moved  by  a  righteous  indignation,  a  fervor,  a 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  their 
ideals,  that  not  only  left  an  impress  upon  the 
Hebrew  religion,  but  has  ever  since  been  a 
potent  factor  in  the  moral  elevation  of  man- 
kind. They  were  led  irresistibly  from  the 
narrow  notion  of  a  mere  national  tribal  god  to 
the  conception  of  a  God  of  the  universe  upon 
whom  all  the  noblest  attributes  could  be  cen- 
tered. Their  strong  moral  feelings  prompted 
them  to  accept  concepts,  that  the  more  subtle 
Greek  mind  acquired  at  a  somewhat  later  period 
through  the  methodical  but  slower  process  of 
reasoning. 

Of  the  other  large  and  unique  literature  em- 
braced in  the  Old  Testament  writings  no  suf- 
ficient outline  can  be  given  in  condensed  form. 
The  lyric  poetical  beauty  and  fervor  of  the 
Psalms  can  be  appreciated  only  when  read  in 
full.  Ecclesiastes  and  Proverbs  are  collections 
of  practical  wisdom  of  which  no  mere  outline 
can  give  an  adequate  idea.  Finally  Job  with 
the  philosophical  and  moral  problems  which  it 
propounds,  is  quite  unique  of  its  kind. 

The  Old  Testament  canon,  that  is  to  say  the 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  i8i 

books  that  have  been  admitted  and  recognized 
as  regular  and  authentic,  was  not  closed  earlier 
than  about  150  B.  C,  probably  later.  A  Greek 
translation  of  the  Pentateuch  was  made  in  Alex- 
andria about  250  B.  C.  and  the  other  books  of 
the  Bible  shortly  thereafter;  and  this  version 
has  been  of  great  service  in  showing  what 
changes  had  been  introduced  in  the  original 
during  that  interval. 

The  attentive  reader  has  probably  be- 
come convinced  what  inestimable  service  the 
scientific  labors  of  the  critical  school  has  ren- 
dered to  a  correct  understanding  of  these  writ- 
ings. Where  the  old  books  abound  in  contra- 
dictions, incongruities  and  wearisome  repeti- 
tions and  allow  only  of  a  confused  notion  of 
the  historical  and  religious  development  of  the 
Hebrew  people,  we  now  have  a  consistent  and 
continuous  narrative  giving  a  clear  picture  of 
all  the  events  involved.  For  while  there  are  of 
course  many  divergent  opinions  about  details, 
all  critics  are  agreed  as  to  the  essential  features 
here  outlined.  Those  that  accept  all  the  Old 
Testament  writings  as  being  literally  of  divine 
inspiration  of  course  are  not  critics. 


1 82  The  Old  Testament: 

Our  task  is  herewith  at  an  end,  for  what  fol- 
lowed the  mission  of  Ezra  no  longer  pertains 
to  the  Old  Testament,  but  rather  to  the  history 
of  Judaism.  Unfortunately  we  have  but  meagre 
records  of  the  events  of  the  next  century  to  the 
time  of  the  destruction  of  the  Persian  empire 
by  Alexander  the  Great  in  333  B.  C.  There  is 
evidence  however  that  after  Ezra  there  were  a 
number  of  expeditions  of  exiles  from  Baby- 
lonia, who  returned  to  Palestine  when  order 
was  finally  established  and  the  long  hoped  for 
temple  service  restored  and  expanded.  These 
immigrants  being  morally,  intellectually  and 
economically  superior  to  the  great  body  of  the 
old  residents,  must  have  exerted  a  powerful 
influence  upon  them.  Besides  the  new  Jewish 
community  while  exclusive  and  exacting,  was 
not  opposed  to  proselytes  if  they  could  be  ob- 
tained upon  their  terms — absolute  acceptance 
and  submission  to  the  new  code  and  perfor- 
mance of  all  commands  in  every  detail.  The  ob- 
jection to  the  heathen  women  and  their  children 
under  Ezra  was  their  persistence  in  worship- 
ing their  pagan  gods  and  rearing  their  chil- 
dren in  the  same  superstitions.    We  find  that  at 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning.  183 

the  end  of  a  century  the  larger  part  of  the  old 
Palestine,  with  the  exception  of  Samaria  but 
including  northern  Israel,  the  later  Galilee,  was 
devoted  to  the  Jewish  cult  and  looked  upon 
Jerusalem  as  its  religious  center. 

As  a  partial  offset  to  the  rigid  observance 
of  law  the  new  idea  of  not  only  national,  but 
individual  moral  responsibility  had  a  broaden- 
ing effect.  The  influences  that  acted  upon 
Judaism  were  manifold.  They  were  to  some  ex- 
tent Babylonian,  but  more  largely  Persian  and 
Greek.  Thereby  such  ideas  as  the  resurrection, 
Satan  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul  were  in- 
troduced, which  were  quite  foreign  to  the  old 
Hebrew  notions.  But  to  pursue  these  subjects 
is  outside  the  object  of  this  little  treatise,  for 
its  chief  aim  has  been  simply  to  sketch  in  out- 
line the  meaning  of  the  Old  Testament  and  with 
it  the  origin  and  development  of  that  mono- 
theistic belief  which  became  the  basis  of  re- 
ligions that  have  ruled  the  thought  and  helped 
to  shape  the  destinies  of  so  large  a  part  of 
civilized  mankind. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLES. 


DATES  OF  REIGNS  AND  IMPORTANT  EVENTS  AS  NEARLY  AS 
THEY  CAN  BE  ASCERTAINED. 


1250 — 1200  Invasion  of  Canaan  by  the  Hebrew  Tribes. 

1030—1010  Saul,  the  first  king,  is  anointed  by  Samuel. 

Defeated  by  the  Philistines  in  the  battle  at  Gil- 
boa  and  killed. 

1010—970  David  succeeds  Saul,  being  elected  king  by 
Judah. 

1000  After  a  long  struggle  crowned  as  king  of  all  the 

Hebrew  tribes.    Makes  Jerusalem  his  capital. 
Extends  his  rule  in  every  direction. 

970 — 933  Solomon  succeeds  his  father.  Kills  or  banishes 
all  opponents.  Makes  Commercial  treaty  with 
Tyre.  Builds  the  Temple,  is  lavish  in  build- 
ing and  lays  heavy  taxes. 

933  Division  of  the  Kingdom. 

Kingdom  of  Israel. 

933—912  Jeroboam  I.  First  king  of  Israel.  Capital  at 
Shechem. 

912 — 910      Nadab,  son  of  Jeroboam  assassinated  by  Baasha. 

910—888      Baasha,  king,  succeeded  by  his  son  Elah. 

888—887  Elah,  ruled  a  short  while  when  he  was  assas- 
sinated. 

887 — 877      Omri,  recognized  as  king. 

Subdues  Moab  and  makes  Samaria  the  capital. 
Marries  his  son  Ahab  to  Jezebel,  daughter  of 
the  king  of  Tyre. 

185 


186 


The  Old  Testament 


877—854      Ahab,  succeeds  his  father  Omri. 

Joins  Benhadad  of  Damascus  in  the  battle  at 
Karkar  against  Shalmanaser  II  of  Assyria. 
854—853      Ahazia  succeeds  his  father  Ahab,  is  injured  and 

dies  shortly, 
853—842      Jehoram,  his  brother,  succeeds  him. 

Killed  by  Jehu.    End  of  the  Omri  dynasty. 
842 — 815      Jehu  usurps  the  throne. 
815 — 798      Jehoash  succeeds  his  father  Jehu. 

The    kingdom  is   overrun    by    the    kings    of 
Damascus. 

The  state  suffers  from  oppression,   drought 
and  famine. 
798—783      Joash  succeeds  his  father  Jehoash. 

Defeats  Damascus  and  recovers  a  number  of 
towns. 
783—743      Jeroboam  II  succeeds  his  father  Joash.    Subdues 

Moab  and  extends  his  sway  in  every  direction. 

Together  with  Judah  comprises  as    large   a 

territory  as  the  kingdom  under  David. 

The  most  prosperous  conditions  ever  attained. 
The    prophets    Amos    and    Hosea    appear 
towards  the  end  of  this  reign. 
743  Zechariah  succeeds  his  father  Jeroboam  II.    Killed 

within   six  months  by  a  military  conspiracy 

under  Shellum.    End  of  the  Jehu  dynasty. 
743  Shellum  makes  himself  king.    Killed  by  Mena- 

hem. 
743 — 737      Menahem  usurps  the  throne  and  becomes  a  vas- 
sal of  the  Assyrians. 
737—735      Pekahiah  succeeds  his  father  Menahem. 

Killed  by  Pekah. 
735—730      Pekah  makes  himself  king. 
734  Joins  Damascus  to  force  Judah  to  combine  with 

them  in  opposition  to  Assyria. 
732  Damascus  captured  by  the  Assyrians. 

730  Pekah  defeated  and  killed  and  the  northern  part 

of  Israel  incorporated  as  an  Assyrian  province. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning. 


187 


730  Hoshea  appointed  king. 

724 — 721      Rebells  against  Assyria. 

Investment   and  capture  of  Samaria  by  the 

Assyrians,    and  deportations   of  the  leading 

citizens.      Obliteration    of    the    kingdom    of 

Israel. 

Kingdom  of  Judah. 
933—917      Rehoboam  first  king. 
928  Pharaoh  Shishak  takes  Jerusalem, 

917—914      Abijam  succeeds  his  father  Rehoboam. 
914—873      Asa,  son  of  Abijam,  becomes  king.    Pays  trib- 
ute to  Damascus. 
878—849      Jehoshaphat  succeeds  his  father  Asa. 

Kings  of  Judah  become  vassals  to  Israel. 

His  son  Jehoram  marries  Athaliah,  daughter 
of  Ahab,  King  of  Israel. 
849—842      Jehoram  succeeds  his  father  Jehoshaphat. 
842  Ahaziah  succeods  his  father  Jehoram.    Killed  by 

Jehu. 
842—836      Athaliah,  wife  of  Jehoram,  kills  all  her  husband's 

relatives,    except    her    grandson    Joash,    and 

makes  herself  queen. 
836  In  a  revolt  inaugurated  by  the  high  priest  Jeho- 

iada,  Athaliah  is  murdered. 
886 — 797      Joash,  son  of  Ahaziah,  becomes  king,  being  the 

reinstatement  of  the  dynasty  of  David.    Killed 

by  a  conspiracy  of  his  servants. 
797 — 77g      Amaziah,  succeeds  his  father  Joash.    Defeated 

by   his   cousin   Joash   of  Israel.      Jerusalem 

taken.    Like  his  father,  killed  by  a  conspiracy 

of  his  servants. 
779—740     Azariah  or  Uzziah  succeeds  his  father  Amaziah. 

A  very  prosperous  and  successful  reign. 

Hie  son  Jotham  his  co-regent  for  a  number  of 
years. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  appears  toward  the  end  of 
his  reign. 


188 


The  Old  Testament : 


740 — 736      Jotham  succeeds  his  father  Uzziah. 
736—720      Ahaz,  succeeds  his  father  Jotham. 

Cowardly  and  self-indulgent,  becomes  abject 
vassal  of  Tiglath-Pileser. 

The  kingdom  of  Israel  destroyed  during  his 
reign. 
720 — 685      Hezekiah  succeeds  his  father  Ahaz. 

Vassal  of  Assyria. 
701  He  joins  a  revolt  against  the  Assyrians,  and  Jeru- 

salem is  besieged.     Sennacherib   raises    the 

siege   to  attack   Egypt  and  then  withdraws 

altogether. 
688  Death  of  the  prophet  Isaiah. 

685 — 642      Manasieh  succeeds  his  father  Hezekiah. 

Supports  religious  reaction  and  permits  many 

foreign  cults,  even  human  sacrifices  to  Moloch. 

Altogether  his  long  reign  is  very  prosperous. 
642 — 640      Amon  succeeds  his  father  Manasseh. 
640 — 608     Josiah,  son  of  Amon  follows.    The  opponents  of 

Assyrian  ascendency  in  control. 

The  prophets  Jeremiah  and  Zephaniah  active. 
621  Finding  the  Book  of  the  Law  in  the  Temple. 

Religious  reforms  in  the  spirit  of  the  Deuter- 
onomic  law  introduced. 
608  Josiah  marches  to  attack  the  Pharoah  Necho  and 

is  routed  and  killed  at  Megiddo. 
608—597     Jehoiakim,  second  son  of  Josiah,  appointed  king 

by  Necho. 

Revolts  and  Nebuchadnezzar  proceeds  to  in- 
vest Jerusalem.     Dies  and  is  succeeded  by  his 
son  Jehoiakin. 
697  Jehoiakin  only  rules  a  few  months. 

Surrenders  Jerusalem.    The  king  and  leading 
citizens  deported  to  Babylonia,  including  the 
later  prophet  Ezekiel. 
597—586      Zedekiah    a    son   of  Josiah   appointed    king  by 

Nebuchadnezzar. 
688  Joins  revolt  and  refuses  tribute  to  the  Chaldeans. 


Its  Origin  and  Meaning. 


189 


687 

586 

] 

1686—582 

692—572 
538 


520 

516 
445-433 


432 
431 

429—424 


Nebuchadnezzar  promptly  appears  before  Jeru- 
salem. 

The  prophet  Jeremiah  counsels  submission. 
Capture  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem  after  a  long  and 

desperate    resistance.       Destruction    of     the 

Temple  and  the  city.     Second  deportation  of 

citizens. 
Gedaliah  appointed  governor.    Assassinated  582. 

Many  citizens  flee. 
The  Exile  and  Thereafter. 
The  activity   of  the  prophet  Ezekiel  during  the 

exile. 
Cyrus  captures   Babylon.    Appoints   Zerubbabel 

governor  of  Judea  and  permits  the  Jews  to 
return. 
The  prophets  Haggai  and  Zechariah  agitate  the 

rebuilding  of  the  Temple. 
Completion  of  the  Temple. 
Nehemiah  appointed  governor  of  Judea  by  Artax- 

erxes. 

Rebuilds  walls  and  fortifications  of  Jerusalem. 
Ezra  permitted  to  return  to  Judea  by  Artaxerxes. 
Calls  a  great  assembly  of  the  people  and  reads  to 

them  the  book  of  the  law  he  had  brought. 
Return    of    Nehemiah    as   governor.     His    final 

activity. 


INDEX 


Abijam,  King  of  Judah 
Succeeds    his   father    Reho- 

boam,   77. 
Appeals    to    Damascus    for 
assistance,    77. 
Abner,    General,    57,    58. 
Abraham,  40,  48. 
Absalom,  61. 
Ahab,    King   of   Israel 
Succeeds    his   father    Omri, 

80. 
His  reign,  81. 

Battle    at    Karkar    against 
Shalmaneser     II     of    As- 
syria, 81. 
Defeated  and  killed  in  Bat- 
tle, 81. 
Erected  a  Baal  temple  for 
his  wife  Jezebel,   84. 
Ahaz,   King  of  Judah 
Succeeds  his  father  Jotham, 

105. 
Is    compelled    to    face    the 
coalition    headed    by    Is- 
rael, 105. 
Submits      to      Tiglath— Pi- 

leser  III,  106. 
Social  conditions  during  his 

reign,  107. 
Succeeded  by  his  son  Heze- 
kiah,  114. 
Ahaziah,  King  of  Israel 
Succeeds    his   father   Ahab, 
dies  shortly,  82. 
Ahaziah,  King  of  Judah,  82. 

Killed  by  Jehu,  86. 
Akkad,  14 
Founder  of  Babylonian  civ- 
ilization, 15. 


Alexander    the    Great,    179, 

182. 
Amalekites,  52-59. 
Amaziah,  King  of  Judah 
Succeeds   his   father  Joash, 

90. 
Reconquers    Edom    and    re- 
covers other  valuable  ter- 
ritory, 91. 
Challenges  his  cousin  Joash, 
is    defeated    and    Jerusa- 
lem is  taken,  91. 
Conspirators    kill    him    and 
his  son  Azariah  succeeds 
him,  91. 
Amon,  King  of  Judah 

Succeeded   his  father  Man- 

asseh,  117. 
After  two  years  is  followed 
by  his  son  Josiah,  117. 
Ammonites,  45,  52,  59. 
Amos,  the  Prophet 
His  activity  and  his  teach- 
ing, 95,  96,  97. 
Arabia 
Original  seat  of  the  Semitic 
Race,  18,  42. 
Arameans,  52,  59. 
Artaxerxes,   152. 
Appoints    Nehemiah    gover- 
nor of  Judea,  152. 
Gives  permission  to  Ezra  to 
return  to  Judea,  157. 
Asa,  King  of  Judah,  78. 

Succeeds  Abijam,  77. 
Assyria 

See  also  Babylonia. 
Language,     15 ;     Conquests 
and      historical      import- 
Anca,  15,  22. 


191 


192 


Index 


Dynasty      overthrown      by 

Chaldeans,   22,   24;   CML- 

ization,  25,  26. 

AsTRUC  Jean,  11. 

Athaliah,  daughter  of  Ahab 

Marries  Jehoram  of  Judah, 

82. 
Has  all  her  husband's  rela- 
tives killed  and  makes 
herself  queen,  87;  Only 
her  grandson  Joash  saved, 
87. 
AzABiAH,  King  of  Judah  (ob 

UZZIAH  ) 

The  state  attains  the  very 
highest  prosperity  under 
him,  92,  93.  Social  and 
moral  conditions,  93. 

A  new  order  of  prophets 
arises,  94.    His  reign,  105. 

His  son  Jotham  co-regent, 
105. 

Baal»  50. 

Baasha  King  of  Israel 
Assassinates      Nadab      and 
makes  himself  king,  78. 
Babylon 
Excavations  at,   13.     Scien- 
tific knowledge,  17. 
Social    life,    17,      Captured 

by  Cyrus,  24,  146. 
Civilization,  24-25. 
Babylonia  see  also  Assyria 
Its   language  and  its  rela- 
tion    to     other     Semitic 
Languages,   14.     Last  King 

Belshazzar,  142. 
Temple  service,  176. 
Bathsheba,  63. 
Belshazzar,   142. 
Benhadad  I  King  op  Damas- 
cus, 78,  78,  81, 
Bensadad  II 


Assassinated  by  Hazael,  87. 
Book  of  the  Law, 
Its  character  and  purpose, 
118,  163. 
Canaan 
Under  Egyptian  rulers,  20. 
Extent  and  location,  44. 
Under  Babylonian  sway,  44. 
Conquest  and  settlement  by 
the  Hebrews,  45-164. 
Canaanites,    44. 
Chaldeans. 

Gain    power    by    overthrow 
of  Assyrian  dynasty,  23. 
Cheonicles,     Books    of,     28, 

147,  178. 
Covenant,  Book  of,  169. 
Cuneiform  Inscriptions 

Decipherment  of,  14. 
Cyrus 

Becomes  king  of  Persia,  24, 

143.     His  victories,  143. 
Captures  Babylon,   24,   146. 
Statesmanship  and  policies, 

14a 
Appoints  governor  of  Judea, 

148. 
Death,  149. 
Darius,  149. 
Da\t[d,  55. 
Married  to  Saul's  daughter, 

53. 
Takes  refuge  with  Philis- 
tines, 55.  Relation  to  Saul 
at  times  obscure,  55. 
Elected  King  by  the 
Judeans,  56. 
Crowned  king  of  all  Israel 

at  Hebron,  58. 
Renewed  struggle  with  Phil- 
istines, 59. 
Jerusalem  made  capital,  59. 
Subdues  hostile  peoples  and 
extends    limits    of    king- 


Index 


193 


dom,  59.  His  marriages, 
60. 

Absalom's  revolt,  61. 

Defeats  Absalom,  62. 

Appoints  Solomon  his  suc- 
cessor, 63.  His  character, 
63-64. 

Conception  of  Jehova,  6i, 
174. 

Deluge 

Cuneiform  tablets  found,  39. 
Deutero-Isaiah,  110,  144. 
Proclaims     Cyrus     the     de- 
liverer, 144. 
Purely  monotheistic  concep- 
tion of  Jehovah,  145. 
Assumes  a  tone  of  highest 
moral  deviation,   146, 
Deutebonomic  Law,  170-171- 

172. 
Deuteronomy 
Its   basis   the   book   of   the 
Law,  118,  172. 
Ecclesiastes,  ISO. 
Edomites,  45,  59. 
Egypt 

Invasion    and    conquest    by 
Semitic  tribes,  19. 
Origin     of     the     Egyptian 
Race,  20. 
Elah,  King  of  Israel,  78. 
ella.shib,  161. 
EUJAH,  Prophet 
His  character  and  his  life, 
85.      Elisha    his    favorite 
disciple,     85.       Affiliated 
with  the  Sons  of  the  Pro- 
phets, loa 
Elisha 

Successor   to   Elijah,    urges 
rigid  Jehovah  worship,  85. 
Sends  a  son  of  the  Prophets 
to  anoint  Jehu,  85. 


Affiliated  with  the  Sons  of 
the  Prophets,  107-108. 
Elohim,  37,  165. 
Elohist,  40-165-169. 
Exile 

Stimulus  to  monotheistic 
development,  133. 

Favorable  condition  and 
political  freedom  of  the 
deported,  134. 

Difficulty    of    the    religious 
problems,  136. 
Exodus,  40,  41,  42. 
Ezekiel,   Prophet 

Among  the  deported,  135. 
Active  as  teacher  and 
prophet,  135. 

Progressive  monotheistic 
views,  136,  137. 

Evolves  new  ideas  of  wor- 
ship 136.  Initiates  higher 
moral  aims,  136,  137. 
Emphasizes  the  moral 
responsibility  of  the  in- 
dividual, 138.  Institutes 
the  Sabbath  as  a  holy 
day,  138.  Urges  confi- 
dence in  Jehovah  and 
foreshadows  a  messianic 
age,  139.  Outlines  the 
theocratic  state,  140. 
First  intimation  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  body, 

140.  His  systematizing 
of  worship  entitles  him 
to  be  considered  the 
founder  of  Judaism,  140, 

141,  172. 
Ezra 

Books  of,  147,  150.  Goes  to 
Jerusalem,  157. 

Has  a  commission  appointed 
to  examine  marriages 
with  Heathen  wives,  158. 


194 


Index 


Calls  a  great  assembly  and 
reads  the  law  he  brought, 
158. 

Priestly  Code,  161,  164, 
165,  178,  179,  182. 

Galilee,  104. 
Gedaliah,  127. 
Genesis 
Criticism    by    Jean    Astruc, 

11. 
Creation  stories,  31,  32,  34. 
Their     different     character, 
37,  166,  168,  175. 

Haggai,  Prophet 
Agitates  for  the  rebuilding 
of  the  temple,  149. 
Hammurabi 
Importance  of  his  reign,  15, 

16. 
Discovery  of  his  code,  16. 
Possibly  identical  with  Am- 
raphel,   16. 
Hazael 
Kills     Benhadad     II      and 
usurps  throne  of  Damas- 
cus, 88. 
Attacks   Jehu   and    ravages 
Hebrew  territory,  88. 
Hebrews 
Language,  14,     Invasion  of 

Canaan,  42. 
Meaning   of   the   name  He- 
brew, 45.    Tribes,  48,  164. 
Hezekiah   King   of   Judah 
Succeeds    his   father   Ahaz, 

114. 
Joins        revolting        states 

against  Assyria,  114. 
Sennacherib  invests  the  city 
and  then  withdraws,  114, 
115. 
Institutes  some  religious  re- 
forms, 115. 
103. 


Succeeded  by  his  son  Man- 
asseh,  115. 

HiLKIAH,    HIGH    PrIEST,   lia 

Holiness  Code,  174. 
Hose  A,  Prophet 

Opposes  alliances,  99. 
His  teaching  and  events  of 
his  life,  99. 
HosHEA,  King  of  Samaria 
Appointed  King  by  Tiglath- 

Pileser  III,  102. 
The    rebels    and    Assyrians 
attack  Samaria  and  take 
the  city,  102. 
Hoshea  made  prisioner,  102. 
Large    number    of    leading 
citizens  sent  into  captiv- 
ity, 103. 
Hyksos,  19. 

Immortauty    of    the    Soul, 
183. 

Isaac,  40,  48. 

Isaiah,  see  also  Deutero  and 
Trito-Isaiah. 

Opposes  alliances  with  for- 
eign powers,  106. 

Critics  distinguish  three 
different  strata  in  his 
writings,    111. 

His  message.  111.  His  con- 
ception  of   Jehovah,    112. 

His  activity,  114.  Again 
opposes  alliances,  113. 

Counsels  holding  Jerusalem 
against    Assyria    and    in- 
stils confidence,  114. 
Israel 

Northern  part  of  kingdom 
captured  by  Tiglath-Pil- 
eser  III,  21,  102. 

Samaria  taken  and  King- 
dom obliterated  by  Sargon 
II,  21,  103. 

Inhabitants     deported,     21, 


Index 


195 


Jacob,  40,  49,  166. 
jehoiada 

High  priest  in  Judah,  helps 
to  conceal  Joash,  86. 
Jehoiakim,  King  of  Judah 

Younger  son  of  Josiah  ap- 
pointed king,  124.  His 
reign,  124. 

Revolts  against  Assyria,  124. 

Succeeded  by  his  son  Jehoia- 
kin,  124. 
Jehoiakin 

Surrenders  to  the  Chaldeans, 
23,  124. 

Deportation  of  leading  citi- 
zens, 124;  Liberated,  177. 
Jehoash,  King  of  Isbael 

Son  of  Jehu.  Humiliated 
by  Hazael,  88. 

Terrible  suffering  of  the 
people,  88. 

Succeeded  by  his  son  Joash 
of  Israel,  90. 
JEHORAM,  King  of  Isbael 

Succeeds  his  brother  Aha- 
ziah,  82. 

Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  rebels 
and  makes  himself  inde- 
pendent, 82-83. 

Fights  against  Damascus 
and  is  wounded  at  siege 
of  Ramoth-Gilead,  83. 

Killed  by  Jehu,  83-«6. 
Jehoram,   King  of  Judah 

Marries  Athaliah,  daughter 
of  Ahab,  81. 

Succeeds  Jehohaphat,  reigns 
seven  years,  82. 

His    son    Ahazlah   succeeds 
him,  82. 
Jehoshaphat,  King  of  Judah 

Ascends  throne,  82.    His  son 
Jehoram     marries     Athaliah, 
daughter  of  Ahab,  82.    His 
reign,  82. 


Jehovah,  38,  43,  47. 

As  tribal  god,  42,  64.     Bull 
worship,  86. 
JEHOVIST,  38,  165,  168,  175. 
Jehu 

Kills  Jehoram  of  Israel 
and  makes  himself  king, 
83. 

Accepts  the  crown,  85.  Kills 
Jehoram  of  Israel,  his 
cousin  Ahaziah  of  Judah, 
Jezebel  and  many  other 
relatives  of  the  crown,  86. 

Attacked  by  Hazael  of  Da- 
mascus and  land  ravaged, 
88. 

Succeeded  by  his  son  Jeho- 
ash, 88. 
Jeremiah,  Pbophet,  118. 

Supports  the  introduction 
of  the  Book  of  the  Law, 
120. 

Foretells  the  chastisement 
by  Jehovah,  123. 

His    life    and    his    activity, 
129.      Conception    of    Je- 
hovah,  129. 
Jeroboam  I,  King  of  Israel, 
75. 

Proclaimed  King,  75.  Made 
Shechem   his   capital,   77. 

Succeeded  by  his  son  Nadab, 
78. 
Jeroboam  II,  King  of  Israel 

Took    possession    of    Moab 
and  extended  his  kingdom 
in     every     direction,     89. 
Discontinued  tribute  to  Assy- 
ria, 89. 

State  attains  the  very  high- 
est prosperity  under  him, 
91. 

Social  and  moral  conditions, 
93. 


196 


Index 


A    new   order    of   prophets 

arises,  94. 
Succeeded  by  hli  ton  Zech- 

ariab,  98. 

JSBUSALBM 

First   and   second  siege   by 

Nebuchadnezzar,  23. 
Destroyed  by  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, 23,  127 ;  Made  capital 
by  David,  59. 
Captured  by  Shishak,  76. 
Jewish  People,  9. 

Monotheistic  ideas,  9. 
Jezebel 
Marries  Ahab  of  Israel,  79; 
Killed  by  Jehu,  86. 
JoASH,  King  of  Israel 
Recovers  a  number  of  towns 
previously      captured      by 
Damascus,  90. 
Succeeded    by   his    son   Jero- 
boam II,  89. 
JoASH,  King  of  Judah 
Son  of  Ahaziah,  86. 
Made  king,  90. 
His  reign,  91. 
Killed  by  his  servants,  91. 
His   son   Amaziah  succeeds 
him,  91. 
Job,  181. 

Joshua,  28,  43,  164,  175. 
JosiAH,  King  of  Judah 
Successor    of    Ammon,    117, 

172. 
Finding  of  the  Book  of  the 

Law,  118. 
Its  enforcements  and  revo- 
lutionary effects,  120,  121. 
His  reign  and  the  changed 
international        situation, 
123. 
Battle  at  Megiddo,  his  rout 
and  death,  122,  164. 
JoTHAM,  King  of  Judah 


Succeeds  his  father  Azariah, 

105. 
Dies  shortly  and  is  followed 
by  his  son  Ahaz,  105. 
Judah 

First    and    second    deporta- 
tion, 24;  Largely  created 
by  David,  53. 
Judaism,  182,  183. 
Judea,  150. 
Social   and  religious  condi- 
tions, 151,  152. 
Judges,  28,  47,  176. 

Kings 

Books  of,  28,  177,  178. 

Leviticus,  174. 

Library  of  Ashurbanipal,  22. 

Lost  Tribes  of  Israel,  103. 

Malachi,  Prophet,  151. 
Manasseh,  King  of  Judah 
Succeeds   his    father    Heze- 

kiah,  115. 
Reformatory    measures    re- 
voked and  worship  of  for- 
eign     gods       introduced, 
115. 
His  reign,  117. 
Succeeded  by  his  son  Amon, 
117. 
Manasseh,  grandson  of  Eli- 

ASHIB,  160. 
Menahem,  King  of  Israel 
Kills  Zechariah  and  makes 
himself  king  of  Israel,  98. 
Pays  tribute  to  Tiglath-Pi- 

leser,  98. 
Struggle  of  parties  for  dif- 
ferent alliances,  99. 
Succeeded  by  his  son  Peka- 
hiah,  99. 
Mesha,  King  of  Moab,  46,  47, 
Methuselah,  167. 


Index 


197 


MiCHA,  Pbophet,  112. 
MoABiTES,  45,  53,  59. 
MoABiTE  Stone,  46. 
monolatry,  47. 
Monotheism 

Difference  from   monolatry, 
47. 
Moses,  28,  41,  163,  164,  174. 
Mount  Gerizim 

Temple  erected,  160. 

Nadal,  King  of  Israel 

Succeeds  his  fatlier  Jero- 
boam I,  78. 

Assassinated  by  Baasha,  78. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  23. 

Supplication  to  Marduc,  26. 

Defeats  Pharaoh  Necho  at 
Carchemish,  123. 

Orders  deportation  of  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Judea,  124. 

Appoints  Zedekiah  King, 
125. 

Jerusalem    destroyed,    127. 

Second  deportation  of  citi- 
zens, 127. 

Gedaliah  made  governor, 
127. 

His  death,  143. 
Nehemiah,       Governor       of 
Judea 

Book  of,  28,  147,  150. 

Appointed  governor  of  Ju- 
dea, 152,  153. 

Conditions  in  Judea,  153. 

Rebuilds  walls  and  fortifi- 
cations,  153. 

His  activity  in  improving 
social,  moral  and  relig- 
ious conditions,  153,  155. 

Prohibits  marriages  with 
heathen  women,  155,  156. 

Precedes   Ezra,  156. 

Returns  and  enforces  law 
against  marriages  with 
heathen  women,  161,  178. 


Old  Testament 

Classification  of  writings, 
27,  28. 

Creation  stories,  32,  33,  34. 

Their     different     character, 
35,  181. 
Omri,   King  of  Israel,  47. 

Elected  king,  78. 

Cedes  cities  to  Benhadad, 
79. 

Expedition  against  Moab, 
79. 

Marries  his  son  Ahab  to 
Jezebel,  daughter  of  the 
king  of  Tyre,  80. 

Erects     Samaria     as     new 
capital,  80. 
Peka,   Ejeng  of  Israel 

Kills  Pekahiah  and  be- 
comes king,  99. 

Ascendancy  of  anti-Assy- 
rian party,  99. 

Opponents  of  this  policy, 
99. 

Prophet  Hosea,  99. 

Combination  of  Israel,  Da- 
mascus and  Philistine 
cities  to  compel  Judah  to 
join  them  in  opposition 
to  the  Assyrians,  102. 

Investment  of  Jerusalem, 
102. 

The  larger  part  of  Israel 
occupied  by  the  Assy- 
rians, 102. 

Peka  killed  and  Iloshea  ap- 
pointed king,  102. 
Pekahiah,  King  of  Israel 

Succeeds  his  father  Mena- 
hem,  99. 

Killed  by  Pekah,  99. 
Pentateuch,   12,   27,   43,   im, 

165,  175. 
Persia 

Conquest  of  Assyria,  15. 


IPS 


Index 


Phiijstines,  44,  50,  54. 
i^hoenicians,  44. 
Priestly  Code,  162,  171. 
Pbophets 
Distinguished       from       the 
Sons  of  the  Prophets,  50. 
Political       and       historical 
events    treated    by    their 
writings,  75. 
A  new  school  arises,  95. 
Their  aims  and  their  teach- 
ing, 95,  107,  108. 
Ascribe    high    moral    attri- 
butes to  Jehovah,  109. 
Critical      study      of     their 

writings,  110. 
Characteristics    and    weak- 
ness of  the  school,   112. 
Do   not   mention  Moses   or 
any     Mosaic     laws,     113, 
114,  115,  117. 
Their    relation    to   political 

issues,  130,  131. 
Prophetic  movement,  179. 
pkovebbs,  181. 
Psalms,  141,  181. 
Romans,  9. 
Rationalists,  11. 
Rehoboam,    King   of  Judah, 
75,  76. 

Sabbath,  34. 
Derivation  of  word,  33. 
Instituted   as   holy   day   by 
Ezekiel,  138. 
Sacrificial  Rites 

At  the  time  of  Solomon,  71. 
Samaria,  Made  capital,  79. 
'  Hoshea    appointed    king    of 
the  state  by  Tiglath-Plle- 
ser  III,  102. 
Samaritans,  161,  162. 
Samballat,  160. 
Samuel,  61. 
Samusl 


Books  of,  28,  176. 
Sabgon  I,  15,  41. 
Sabgon  II 

Captures  Samaria,  21. 
Satan,  183. 

Saul,  First  King  of  the  He- 
brews 

Anointed  as  king,  51. 

Defeated  the  Philistines, 
53-54. 

Battle  with  Philistines  at 
Gilboa,  54. 

His  defeat  and  death,  54. 
Semitic  Race 

Predominated  at  Baby- 
lonia, 15. 

Origin,  18. 

Migrations,  18-19. 
Septuagint,  27-181. 
Shellum,  King  of  Israel 

Kills  Zechariah  and  usurps 
the  throne,  98. 

Again    slain    by    Menahem, 
98. 
Solomon,    King   of  the  He- 
brews 

On  accession  to  the  throne 
kills  and  banishes  all  op- 
ponents, 65. 

Loses  Edom,  65. 

Arameans  revolt  and  be- 
come dangerous  foes 
thereafter,  66. 

Marries  Pharaoh's  daugh- 
ter, 66. 

Makes  commercial  treaty 
with  Tyre,  66. 

Improves  social  conditions, 
66. 

Phoenician  alphabet  and 
higher  culture  intro- 
duced, 68. 

Extravagance  and  passion 
for  building,  6a 


Index 


199 


Divides  kingdom  into  dis- 
tricts, obliterating  tribal 
distinctions,  69. 

Lays  heavy  taxes  and  in- 
troduces forced  labor,  69. 

Erects  Temple,  70-71. 

Conception  of  Jehovah  simi- 
lar to  that  of  David,  71. 

Remodels  Temple  service, 
71-72-173. 

Fame  for  wisdom,  72. 

His  character.  111. 
Sons   of   the   Prophets,   50- 

83-95-107. 

SUMERIANS 

Founders  of  Babylonian 
civilization,  14. 

Tel-El-Amabna     Correspond- 
ence, 19. 

TlGLATH-PlLESER    III 

Conquers  northern  part   of 

Israel,  21-98-102. 
Compells  Ahaz  of  Judah  to 

pay  tribute,  21. 
Menahem    pays    tribute    to 

him,  98. 

TOBIAH,    160. 

Trito-Isaiah,  110-144-151. 


UZZIAH        OB        AZARIAH,        BEK 
AZARIAH,    91-105. 

Voltaire,  11. 

Wisdom  Literature,  29-180. 

Yah  WE,  SEE  Jehovah,  42-43. 

Zechariah,    King   op  Israel, 
98. 
Succeeds    his    father    Jero- 
boam II,  98. 
Assassinated     by     Shellum, 
98. 
Zechariah,  Prophet 

Urges  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temple,  149. 
Zedekiah,     King    of    Judah, 
125. 
Appointed  king,  125. 
His  reign,  125. 
Joins   league   to    overthrow 

Chaldean  rule,  126. 
He    surrenders     Jerusalem, 
flees,     is     captured     and 
blinded,  126. 
Zephaniah,  Prophet,  118. 
Zebubbabel,  148. 


Date  Due 

9  f^B  m 

., 

f 

1 

^ 

